Oregon Teacher's Statement Follows School Shooting

A teacher who grappled with a gunman at a Bend, Oregon elementary school issued her first statement Friday, asking for privacy as families mourn four students and a teacher killed in the Oct. 15 attack. Cassidy Schutz, a certified learning specialist at Silver Rail Elementary School, said she would make no further public comments.

Schutz threw her cellphone at the shooter and wrestled him for the shotgun, Bend-La Pine Schools said, citing Police Chief Mike Krantz. In her statement, Schutz wrote: "There are no words to describe the depth of sadness I am feeling following the events of October 15th." She added: "The pain of this loss I will carry with me forever."

The shooting began when a 16-year-old former student entered Silver Rail Elementary and fired into a special needs classroom, police said. Teacher Megan Lambert, 25, was killed along with student Rhoam Summer, 5, and two other children, ages 8 and 11. The shooter was also killed.

Teacher Becky Drury and a 7-year-old girl were shot and survived, according to authorities. Schutz said her focus remains on the affected families, school staff and her own recovery.