The educator hailed as a hero for throwing a cellphone at an armed teenager during a deadly attack at a Bend, Oregon, elementary school said Friday that “the pain of this loss, I will carry forever.”
Cassidy Schutz was identified Friday by the school district as the staff member who engaged with the shooter during the attack at Silver Rail Elementary School that left four people dead.
“There are no words to describe the depth of sadness I feel following the events of October 15. This is not a story. This is a horrible, heartbreaking tragedy, and these are our real lives,” Schutz said in a statement released by Bend-La Pine Schools.
Schutz, a certified learning specialist at the school, was called heroic after throwing her phone at a 16-year-old gunman and fighting him off with the shotgun.
An armed community member passing by saw the shooter and followed him into the school, shooting him while he was in a physical confrontation, police said.
“Everything happened so quickly and I wish with all my being that we had more time,” Schutz said in the statement. “The pain of this loss I will carry forever. There are no words for this unimaginable reality we face.”
Three boys aged 5, 8 and 11 and a teacher were killed. Another child and a teacher were injured. Authorities publicly identified two of the victims killed as 5-year-old Rhoam Summer and 25-year-old Megan Lambert.
Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz said the educator’s action in confronting the shooter “almost certainly helped prevent further bloodshed.”
The shooting happened in a special education classroom at the school, officials said.
“My thoughts are with those who are missing, their families, those who were injured and those who were there that day. My heart is with you,” Schutz said.
The shooting remains under investigation and the motive, if known, has not been released by authorities.
Schutz requested confidentiality in Friday’s statement.
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