“A teacher hailed as a hero for her quick action to help stop the gunman who carried out the school shooting in Bend, Oregon, last month is speaking out about her experience as the community prepares to send its children back to the school. “It all happened so fast, and I wish with everything in”, — write on: www.cnn.com
A teacher hailed as a hero for her quick action to help stop the gunman who carried out the school shooting in Bend, Oregon, last month is speaking out about her experience as the community prepares to send its children back to the school.
“It all happened so fast, and I wish with everything in me that we had more time,” Cassidy Schutz, a certified learning specialist at Silver Rail Elementary, said in a statement Friday.
After the shooting, Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz described an unnamed teacher’s “heroic action” to stop the gunman who opened fire in a special needs classroom, killing three students and a teacher.
She threw her cellphone at the gunman and tackled him to try to get the gun away before a parent at the school fatally shot him, Krantz said.
Her quick action “almost certainly helped prevent more bloodshed,” the chief said.
More than a week after the tragedy, Schutz came forward to address the incident in a statement released by the Bend-La Pine school district.
“There are no words to describe the depth of sadness I am feeling following the events of October 15th,” Schutz said in the statement. “My thoughts are with those who were lost, their families, those who were hurt, and those who were there that day. My heart is with you.”
Another student and teacher were also injured during the attack. Schutz was uninjured, according to police.
Schutz emphasized the “horrific and heartbreaking tragedy” is more than just a story for those who are living it and requested privacy as she navigates the aftermath.
“The pain of this loss I will carry with me forever. There are no words for this unimaginable reality we are facing. My focus is on these families, our team, our school, and my own healing,” she said.
The father who helped stop the attack, Kaylub Giamanco, was carrying a legally secured .40-caliber pistol when he saw the gunman and followed him into the school.