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By Joshua Rhett Miller
Senior Reporter
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A 5-year-old child has been identified as the youngest victim in Thursday's mass shooting at an elementary school in Oregon, relatives said.
Kelik Summer confirmed in a Facebook post late Thursday that his son Rhoam Summer had been among the victims at Silver Rail Elementary in Bend, where a 16-year-old gunman killed three children and a teacher before a father of two students at the school fatally shot him.
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"Today has been the worst day of my life," Summer wrote on social media. "My son Rhoam was killed in a school shooting. We are broken and lost, but are surrounded by friends and family who are keeping us safe."
Kelik Summer, of Bend, posted the somber announcement in a Facebook community group.
"Thank you for your support," he wrote.
A family spokesperson also confirmed Rhoam Summer had been killed during Thursday's mass shooting, NBC News reported.
Rhoam's family said they were devastated by his tragic death, his grandfather told the New York Times.
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"The whole thing is senseless, and a shock," Bryan Jolly told the newspaper. "He was in my house a lot, and in my garden with me, and wrestling with me on the couch."
Jolly characterized his grandson as "very bright and very mischievous and very fun-loving, and totally without fear," the newspaper reported.
An online fundraiser for Rhoam's family had eclipsed $35,000 as of Friday afternoon.
"In the wake of an unimaginable tragedy, the Summer family is grieving the heartbreaking loss of their sweet 5-year-old son, Rhoam," the site reads. "There are no words that can ease the pain of losing a child, and no family should ever have to experience a loss like this. As they navigate the days and weeks ahead, we want to come together as a community to surround them with love, compassion, and support."
Each victim, including Rhoam, a teacher and children ages 8 and 11, were shot inside a special needs classroom. A 7-year-old student and 54-year-old teacher were also wounded. Both remained in serious condition, Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz said Friday.
The families of the two other children who were killed have asked that they not be immediately identified, Krantz said.
Megan Lambert, 25, of Bend, had been working her first full-time teaching position when she was killed during Thursday's attack, the police chief told reporters.
The wounded teacher, Becky Drury, has serious injuries but is expected to survive, a friend of her family told the New York Times. Her husband, Will Drury, said the family is going through an "unimaginably difficult time," the newspaper reported.
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Roughly 500 people gathered at a vigil in Drake Park late Thursday, including Oregon Governor Tina Kotek and Bend Mayor Melanie Kebler, The Bulletin reported.
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"Usually I would say it’s wonderful to see so many people from our community come together, but this is a day that every mayor dreads," Kebler told the crowd. "This is a dark day, an awful day. And a day that will impact so many of us so, so deeply … there are simply no words for the loss that we have suffered today."
Kaylub Giamanco, a 36-year-old father of two students at the school, sprang into action Thursday upon witnessing the 16-year-old gunman walk inside, his brother, Kyle Giamanco, told NBC News on Friday.
Kyle Giamanco said his brother told him that he had been driving home when he heard gunshots and saw a shooter entering the school. Kaylub, a carpenter who owns a concealed weapon, "decided to go in after" the gunman, his brother told NBC News.
The teen, who used a pump-action shotgun purchased by his mother, forced his way into the school by firing at locked doors, Bend police told reporters during a press conference late Thursday.
The police chief identified the attacker on Friday as 16-year-old Griffin J. John II, a former student at the school.
The gunman's mother, Shauntai May Nickerson, was cooperative during a subsequent search of the family's home, the New York Times reported.
Nickerson told reporters outside her home Friday that she couldn't discuss how her son obtained the weapon.
"If I could have prevented this, I would have," she said.
Newsweek’s reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here. Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Jason Lemon and Gray R. Thomas
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