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The teacher hailed as a hero for throwing a cell phone at a teenage gunman during a deadly attack at a Bend, Oregon, elementary school said Friday that “the pain of this loss I will carry with me forever.”
Cassidy Schutz was identified by the school district Friday as the employee who engaged the shooter during the attack at Silver Rail Elementary School that killed four people.
“There are no words to describe the depth of sadness I feel after the events of October 15th. This is not a story. This is a terrible and heartbreaking tragedy, and it is our real life,” Schutz said in a statement released by Bend-La Pine Schools.
Schutz, a certified learning specialist at the school, was called heroic after she threw her phone at the 16-year-old gunman and fought him over the gun.
An armed community member who was passing by saw the gunman and followed him into the school, fatally shooting him when he got into a physical confrontation, police said.
“It all happened so fast, and I wish with everything in me that we had more time,” Schutz said in the statement. “The pain of this loss I will carry with me forever. There are no words for this unimaginable reality we face.”
Three boys aged 5, 8 and 11 and a school teacher were killed. Another child and a teacher were injured. Authorities have publicly identified two of the victims who were killed as Rhoam Summer, 5, and Megan Lambert, 25.
Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz said the educator’s action against the gunman “almost certainly helped prevent more bloodshed.”
The shooting happened in a special needs classroom at the school, officials said.
“My thoughts are with those who were lost, their families, those who were hurt, and those who were there that day. My heart goes out to you,” Schutz said.
The shooting remains under investigation and a motive, if known, has not been released by officials.
Schutz asked for privacy in Friday’s statement.
