Oregon teen gunman was tackled by ‘heroic’ teacher then shot by students’ father

A teacher threw her phone at the teenage gunman who killed four people at an Oregon junior school, then tackled and fought with him – probably saving lives before he was shot by a father who followed him into the building, police said Friday.

Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz called the teacher’s actions “heroic” during a news conference and said she was not injured. He identified the attacker as 16-year-old Griffin J. John II and said all of the victims were shot in the same classroom.

Authorities said John had been a special needs student at the school and had attacked a classroom with special needs students. He fired as many as 15 shots from a 12-gauge shotgun and had about 44 rounds remaining when he was killed, Krantz said.

“Everyone wants to know why, including us,” he said. “We may never get that full answer, but we want it.”