The teacher credited with preventing more deaths during a shooting at Silver Rail Elementary has released her first public statement since wrestling with the school’s attacker earlier this month.

Cassidy Schutz, a certified learning specialist at Silver Rail, is the staff member police say assaulted the 16-year-old who killed three students, a teacher and injured others on Oct. 15.

Schutz released a statement Friday through the Bend-La Pine Schools district.

“There are no words to describe the depth of sadness I am feeling following the events of October 15th,” Schutz said in a statement. “This is not a story. This is a horrific and heartbreaking tragedy, and it is our real lives.”

Schutz went on to describe the heartbreak she felt for all those impacted on that day and the healing journey she hopes the community will take alongside her.

“My thoughts are with those who were lost, their families, those who were hurt, and those who were there that day,” she said. “My heart is with you.”

Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz described Schutz’s actions as “heroic” during a press conference earlier this month. There, he retold how she threw her cell phone at the shooter, tackled him and fought to take his firearm away. That struggle was the opening where 36-year-old Kaylub Giamanco explained he was able to fatally shoot the teenage attacker.

Giamanco, in an Oct. 23 interview with OPB, had not yet learned Schutz’s name but credited her with giving him the chance to make his shot without losing his own life.

“I would love to give her a hug because that’s a real true hero,” he said.

Earlier this week, hundreds attended a memorial service for Megan Lambert, a Silver Rail teacher who died during the attack.

Another Silver Rail teacher, teaching assistant Becky Drury, was among those injured that day. She’s recovering from her fourth surgery to reconstruct her arm after being seriously wounded in the shooting.

This week, her husband, Will, thanked everyone on Drury’s GoFundMe page for their “generosity and kindness” while Drury continues the long road ahead to full recovery.

He also said he hopes this will be her last surgery.

Below is Schutz’s full statement:

“There are no words to describe the depth of sadness I am feeling following the events of October 15th. This is not a story. This is a horrific and heartbreaking tragedy, and it is our real lives. My thoughts are with those who were lost, their families, those who were hurt, and those who were there that day. My heart is with you. It all happened so fast, and I wish with everything in me that we had more time. The pain of this loss I will carry with me forever. There are no words for this unimaginable reality we are facing. My focus is on these families, our team, our school, and my own healing. As I continue to navigate this, I ask that you please give me the time, space, and privacy I need to heal. I will not be making any additional public statements at this time.”

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2026/10/30/silver-rail-teacher-schutz-fought-shooter-statement/