Another Bend-La Pine Schools staffer who was in the classroom at Silver Rail Elementary and survived when a 16-year-old gunman opened fire Oct. 15 released a statement on Sunday for the first time since the shooting.
In a press release Nov. 8, Bend-La Pine Schools identified Inclusion Education Assistant Miah Hergert as a staffer who was in the special needs classroom at the time of the shooting. Hergert was physically unharmed as the shooter killed three children and a teacher before another staffer wrestled with the attacker and bystander fatally shot him.
“To the Bend community, the families, teachers and children who have become such a special part of my life, my heart is forever with you,” Hergert said. “October 15 changed my life forever. Everything happened so fast, I witnessed both unimaginable darkness and extraordinary love. To the angels who saved my life, thank you. I will carry you in my heart forever. My heart aches for the families who lost their loved ones.”
Bend Police said previously that four adults and five children were in the classroom when the shooting occurred. On Oct. 30 the district identified Certified Learning Specialist Cassidy Schutz as the staffer who wrestled with the shooter before 36-year-old Kaylub Giamanco, a parent of two Silver Rail students, shot the assailant with a pistol.
Megan Lambert, a 25-year-old teacher, died in the shooting, while 54-year-old teaching assistant Becky Drury suffered serious gunshot wounds to her arms and hand but is recovering after multiple surgeries. Drury was released from the hospital over the weekend, her family shared in a GoFundMe post.
Hergert, the education assistant, said Bend became her home in less than a year, and said working with children brought back the “joy, innocence, and nostalgia of my own childhood.”
“I came here hoping to make a difference in their lives, never realizing how much they would change mine,” Hergert said. “I am beyond grateful for the teachers who welcomed me like family, the people who have surrounded me with love, and this community that continues to show up for one another. These children are our light, and I hope to continue growing alongside them.”
One of the three children killed in the attack, 5-year-old Rhoam Summer, has been identified, while families of the other two boys who died, ages eight and 11, have chosen not to reveal their identities, police said.
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