Six days after the shooting inside a special needs classroom at Silver Rail Elementary, recovery continued for the seven-year-old girl and 54-year-old staffer wounded in the tragedy.
Meanwhile, the community and families continued to mourn the dead, including a teacher working her “dream job” and a “vivacious” five-year-old — the youngest person ever killed in a school shooting in the United States.
Online fundraisers had raised more than $1 million for the victims’ families as of Tuesday, while businesses and other groups had fundraisers of their own.
“Serious but stable” condition
Much of the fundraising was in support of Saylor Graham, who was identified as the injured seven-year-old in a pair of online fundraisers created the day after the shooting. Police said Oct. 16 the girl received life-saving care at the scene and was transported to Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, where she was in “serious but stable” condition.
The hospital wouldn’t confirm Graham’s status or whether she was a patient there. On Sunday, fundraiser organizers encouraged people to send letters to Graham and her family.
The fundraiser describes Graham as a “feisty, loving child.” She was born with CASK, a genetic mutation that affects brain development and cognitive and physical functions.
In 2024, Bend Senior High School’s Sparrow Club, an organization whose work involves “empowering kids to help kids in medical need through compassion, kindness and sponsored community service,” according to its website, “adopted” Graham as its “Sparrow,” helping raise funds for her care.
“Although Saylor usually uses a wheelchair, especially in public, she can walk on her own – a milestone her parents were once told she would never reach,” the club posted to its website in 2024.
Teacher continues recovery
Becky Drury, the 54-year-old special education teacher who was wounded in the shooting, is recovering after multiple surgeries, Zack Hall, a friend speaking on behalf of the family, said Tuesday.
“She’s doing OK, all things considered,” Hall said. “She is improving. She’s moving, she’s awake.”
During the shooting, Drury suffered injuries to both arms and her hand, Hall said.
In a statement, Will Drury, Becky’s husband, said she still has a “long road” of recovery ahead.
“I want to thank our family, friends, and the entire community for their continued outpouring of love and kindness,” Drury said. “Your support has given us tremendous strength as Becky faces challenges she never should have had to endure. I also want to express my gratitude to the first responders and medical staff for the extraordinary care they have provided over these last few days.”
Scholarship honors “Coach Megan”
The Central Oregon Volleyball Club began raising funds Monday for a volleyball scholarship to honor Megan Lambert, a 25-year-old coach and teacher who died in the Silver Rail Elementary shooting.
An online fundraiser had raised about $10,000 by Tuesday.
In her first year as coach, Lambert forfeited payment to help athletes who couldn’t otherwise afford to play, the club said.
“That generosity and care for others is exactly why we are creating this fund: to keep Megan’s legacy alive and to give athletes the opportunity to play volleyball when cost might otherwise stand in the way,” the fundraiser said.
In a statement read by police the day after the shooting, Lambert’s family said she loved Silver Rail and was doing her “dream job.”
“Megan was compassionate and had a huge heart,” the statement said. “She always fought for the underdog and those with special needs.”
Lambert also interned with the Source in 2017, when she was a student at Mountain View High School, doing photography and other tasks.
Slain child loved to climb, dance, draw
The parents of Rhoam Summers, the five-year-old boy killed in the Silver Rail shooting, described him as a child who loved to climb, dance and draw.
Kelik and Lillian Summer shared more about Rhoam in a statement posted to their lawyers’ Facebook page on Monday. They said he told sweet stories, cuddled at “every opportunity” and made sure guests had drinks, snacks or stuffed animals.
“We could not have hoped for a more wonderful child and everyone in his family, found family, and friend circle could not wait to see how he grew,” the parents said.
If people want to honor Rhoam, they should draw, the parents said.
“Sharks, dinosaurs, 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.”
Rhoam is the youngest person ever killed in a school shooting in the United States, according to the K-12 School Shooting Database, which dates to 1966.
The Source reported Monday that the law firms Dwyer Williams & Cherkoss, Simon Greenstone & Panatier and Worthington & Caron announced that they have been retained to “preserve and protect” Rhoam’s memory and investigate any potential legal claims, stemming from last week’s shooting at the Bend elementary school.
“The team’s primary objectives are to discover the truth, determine accountability, and pursue justice on behalf of Kelik and Lillian Summer, the parents of Rhoam,” according to a statement on a tribute website for the child.
Two other boys, ages eight and 11, were also killed in the shooting. Their names have not been released at the request of their families.
In an update on Monday, Bend Police reported that a fifth child was also in the classroom, and was unharmed. The update also revealed that a fourth adult was also in the classroom at the time of the attack — other than Lambert, Drury, and a teacher who tackled the shooter before a bystander shot the assailant.
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