Oregon school shooting: teacher says she feigned death to survive
Becky Drury, a teacher at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, says she was shot as she tried to shut her classroom door during the 15 October attack.
At a glance
- Teacher Becky Drury, 54, said she pretended to be dead after being shot at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon.
- A 16-year-old former student killed three children and a teacher on 15 October before a parent from the school shot him dead.
- Drury said she was shot as she tried to shut her classroom door and could not protect the children inside.
Becky Drury, a 54-year-old teacher at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, has said she survived the 15 October mass shooting by pretending to be dead after the attacker shot her.
In a statement shared with US media, her first remarks since the attack, Drury said she went to see what was happening outside the special-education classroom, spotted the shooter and tried to shut the door. The attacker still managed to shoot her.
"I did the only thing I could do, which was to pretend to be dead in the hope he would not shoot me again," Drury said.
Lying on the floor, she saw that her left hand was almost completely severed by the gunshot and that her other arm was also severely injured. She said she could not get up, defend herself or protect anyone else. Her injuries were serious but not life-threatening.
What happened at the school
The attacker, identified as a 16-year-old former student at the school, killed three students and a teacher before a parent from the school fatally shot him. Officials named the attacker as Griffin J John II.
Those killed were five-year-old Rhoam Summer, children aged eight and eleven, and 25-year-old teacher Megan Lambert.
Police said another teacher, who has not been named, tried to disarm the gunman by throwing her mobile phone. She was not injured. A father of two other children followed the suspect into the school and then shot and killed him.
Police have not yet shared a motive. Officials say the suspect was a special-education needs student at Silver Rail.
'The truth is I was shot before I had any chance to act'
Drury said she wanted to clear the record about what happened on 15 October, after reports emerged that another teacher had thrown herself on top of a student to protect the child.
"I know there has been contradictory reporting about my actions that day, but the truth is I was shot before I had any chance to act," she said.
She described what happened in the classroom as "unimaginable" and said her heart was broken for everyone affected by the tragedy.
Source: BBC World.
Questions and answers
- Who was the shooter in the Bend, Oregon school shooting?
- Officials identified the attacker as 16-year-old Griffin J John II, a former student at Silver Rail Elementary School. Police say he was a special-education needs student there and have not shared a motive.
- Who was killed at Silver Rail Elementary School?
- Three students and a teacher were killed on 15 October: five-year-old Rhoam Summer, children aged eight and eleven, and 25-year-old teacher Megan Lambert. The attacker was then shot dead by a parent from the school.
- How did teacher Becky Drury survive the shooting?
- Drury, 54, said the attacker shot her as she tried to shut her classroom door. Unable to get up or defend herself because of her injuries, she pretended to be dead so he would not shoot her again.
