The teacher’s statement, issued Wednesday, describes hearing something happening outside, running to investigate, and then seeing the shooter. She ran back to the classroom, but the shooter was already there. “Before I could do anything more, he shot me at close range and I fell to the ground,” Drury said. She said her left hand was nearly severed and her right arm severely injured, leaving her unable to stand or help others. She lay still, pretending to be dead.
Drury’s account contradicts some news reports that suggested she covered a student with her body. She said she wanted to set the record straight to ensure accurate reporting. “Accurate, respectful reporting is a truly important service that will help heal the wounds inflicted by that awful day,” she said.
The shooting occurred when the gunman forced his way through locked doors with a pump-action shotgun and entered the classroom. Police said the shotgun was legally purchased, and investigators are still determining how the suspect obtained it. Authorities also said another teacher threw her phone at the gunman and tackled him, wrestling for control of the weapon and likely saving lives before a father who followed the gunman into the building shot him.
Schools in the district, except for the school where the attack occurred, reopened Wednesday, with officers present at each reopened school. The Bend Police Department continues the investigation, including serving search warrants on the suspect’s home and electronic devices.