Among those killed in a shooting at an elementary school in Bend, Oregon, were a teacher working her “dream job” and a 5-year-old boy who “loved to tell stories,” according to their families.
Four people, including three young children, were killed in the shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School on Oct. 15. Authorities say a teen stormed onto the campus and shot his way into a special education classroom before he was tackled by a teacher and fatally shot by a bystander who had followed him into the school.
Authorities have not released any details about what may have motivated the attack, but said the suspect was a former special education student at the school.
Rhoam Summer, 5, was killed in the rampage, along with 25-year-old teacher Megan Lambert, according to the Bend Police Department. Another teacher, Becky Drury, received non-life threatening injuries, a family spokesperson told USA TODAY. A local youth nonprofit identified another student who was injured in the attack as 7-year-old Saylor Graham-Poarch.
Here’s what we know about the victims.
Rhoam Summer, 5, ‘had the purest heart’
Bend Police identified Rhoam as a victim of the shooting at the request of his family. Rhoam’s father posted in a Facebook group Oct. 15 that his son was one of the victims killed in the shooting.
“We are broken and lost, but are surrounded by friends and family who are keeping us safe,” he wrote, calling it the worst day of his life.
Bend Police identified 5-year-old Rhoam Summer as one of three children who were killed in the Oct. 15 shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School.
In a statement, Rhoam’s parents described him as a kindhearted little boy who wanted to dress up as a bunny for Halloween, “cuddled at every opportunity and sang to himself when he was upset.” He loved dancing, sharing and rainbows and unicorns, they said.
To remember Rhoam, his family requested people draw pictures, particularly of sharks, dinosaurs or monsters.
“Rhoam loved to tell stories of creatures with big teeth who needed understanding and friendship. Please make art for him. Draw or paint. Use your hands if you can. Get messy,” his parents said. “Rhoam was not a child art prodigy, but he had the purest heart and he put love into every scribble, splash or paint, or smashed leaf he tried to shape.”
Rhoam Summer, the 5-year-old killed in the shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend on Oct. 15, was always moving and climbing, his parents said. “His heart knew no limits and it grew with him every single day,” Kelik and Lillian Summer said in a statement.
For 25-year-old Megan Lambert, teaching was her ‘dream job’
Law enforcement identified Lambert as the Silver Rail teacher who was killed in the shooting. Bend Police spokesperson Sheila Miller read a statement from Lambert’s family at an Oct. 16 news conference.
“To tell you about who Megan was would take 25 years,” the statement began.
Lambert loved sports, especially volleyball, which she coached, her family said.
Megan Lambert, a 25-year-old teacher at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, was identified Oct. 16 as one of the victims killed in the Oct. 15 school shooting.
She grew up in Bend, graduating from Mountain View High School in 2019 and later from Boise State University in 2023.
“This was her dream job,” the family said in their statement. “Megan was compassionate and had a huge heart. She always fought for the underdog and those with special needs.”
Contributing: Jeanine Santucci and Fernando Cervantes Jr., USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Oregon elementary school shooting victims remembered
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