Seven-Year-Old Saylor Graham Fights For Life After Oregon School Shooting
A seven-year-old disabled girl is fighting for her life after a mass shooter targeted her at an Oregon elementary school. Saylor Graham is in serious but stable condition after the tragedy that killed three other students and a teacher. The shooter, Griffin J. On Thursday afternoon, John II opened fire within Silver Rail Elementary School. Central Oregon Daily reported the details of the attack and the current state of the young victim.
Saylor is known throughout her community as a “fighter” who survived the Silver Rail mass shooting. Matt Sampson, executive director of Sparrow USA, told the New York Post that she brings light to everyone around her. “Saylor is the definition of light and joy,” Sampson said, noting that people feel an immediate need to know her when she enters a room. He described her as “very inspirational, very joyful, very courageous, and inspirational.”
CASK, a gene mutation affecting her physical and cognitive development, is what the girl battles. She also has dysphagia, a disorder that makes it difficult to swallow food and drink. A 2024 announcement described her as “sweet, happy, adorable, and resilient.” Although she was nonverbal and frequently used a wheelchair, she was able to walk on her own. She was the 2024-25 “Sparrow” for Bend Senior High School, meaning local teenagers raised money to help her family with medical costs.
Griffin John, 16, entered the special education classroom armed with a Maverick 88 shotgun loaded with birdshot, buckshot, and slugs. At a Friday press conference, Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz stated the teenager fired at least 15 shots. A hero teacher tackled the gunman and wrestled his firearm away while throwing her cellphone at him. Krantz praised the teacher for her “heroic action” and noted she was not injured.
“She was not injured in that incident, but she almost certainly help prevent more bloodshed,” Krantz said. Kaylub Giamanco, a father identified as a good Samaritan, entered the room with his own pistol. He saw the teacher wrestling with the shooter and fired, fatally striking John multiple times. Giamanco later posted on Facebook that he wanted to reach out to the little survivor and her family. “We’re here for them in whatever way we can be,” he wrote.
The shooting claimed the lives of three students and one teacher. Among the victims were teacher Megan Lambert, 25, an 11-year-old, an 8-year-old, and 5-year-old Rhoam Summer. Saylor was a 5-year-old kindergartener at the school when the program adopted her in the 2024-25 academic year. Sampson told the newspaper that she was a catalyst who taught kids things many adults could not have taught them without her.
To support Saylor and encourage her while her family manages her medical journey, high school students were encouraged to raise funds for her via sponsored community service. The community is now rallying around the family as they face this new crisis. Giamanco expressed his belief that the family are fighters who will need a lot of support. “I’m so glad this community is giving it to them, but they’re fighters, and I believe in them,” he stated.
