A teacher wounded in last week's attack on a special education classroom at an Oregon elementary school says she never had a chance to try to shelter any of the children inside.
In a statement issued by a family friend, Becky Drury said Wednesday that she ran to see what was going on when she realized something was happening — but immediately saw the shooter and rushed back to the classroom.
“I turned to shut the door behind me, but the shooter was already there,” Drury said. “Before I could do anything more, he shot me at close range and I fell to the ground.”
Her left hand was nearly severed by a gunshot, and her right arm was struck as well. Unable to get up or defend herself or others, she said, “I did the only thing I could do, which was to pretend to be dead in the hope he would not shoot me again.”
Three children — ages 5, 8 and 11 — and a teacher were killed at Silver Rail Elementary in Bend, Oregon, last Thursday when a former student there, 16-year-old Griffin J. John II, blasted his way through locked doors with a shotgun and attacked the classroom. Another student was critically injured.
Authorities said another teacher threw her phone at the gunman and then tackled him and wrestled with him for control of the weapon, likely saving lives before the gunman was shot by a father who followed him into the building.
Some news reports had suggested that Drury threw herself on top of one student to protect her. Drury, who remains hospitalized, said she wanted to correct the record.
“Accurate, respectful reporting is a truly important service that will help heal the wounds inflicted by that awful day,” she said.
School reopened in the district Wednesday for the first time since the shooting. Dozens of officers were on hand at each school to welcome children back, the Bend Police Department said.
In a social media post, the department said it continues investigating the attack, including serving search warrants at the attacker's home, as well as on his electronic devices and his social media accounts on a variety of platforms.
The statement said police have confirmed that the pump-action shotgun used in the attack had been legally purchased. The Associated Press previously reported it had been purchased by the suspect's mother, according to a law enforcement source who was not authorized to discuss the investigation. But investigators said they were still looking into how the boy obtained it.
Children place flowers at a makeshift memorial outside Silver Rail Elementary in Bend, Ore., Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, a day after a deadly shooting. (AP Photo/Joe Kline)
NEW YORK (AP) — Tesla reported a decline in profit for the latest quarter but a measure of cash its business generated surged, leaving investors with a mixed picture as it prepares for a possible merger with Elon Musk’s other big company, SpaceX.
The electric vehicle maker reported third-quarter net income of $787 million, or 22 cents per share, down 44% from the year-earlier period. Excluding certain items, though, earnings per share of 48 cents beat Wall Street analyst expectations by 3 cents.
One standout for the quarter was Tesla's $1.5 billion in free cash flow, a measure of cash generated after subtracting investments needed to keep the business running. Given big artificial intelligence spending, analysts had expected Tesla would report it had burned through cash, not generated it.
“It seems Tesla is taking a more capital-efficient approach, delaying longer-term projects to be able to self-fund their AI growth,” said Morningtar analyst Seth Goldstein, calling the cash jump the big surprise of the quarter.
Revenue was basically flat at $28 billion, falling slightly short of analysts’ forecast.
In a SpaceX conference call after that company reported earnings on Tuesday, Musk said a long-rumored merger with Tesla might be in the works. He said that special committees had been set up at each company to discuss a possible combination, while cautioning that many hurdles remain.
Musk declined to discuss the possible merger further on Tesla’s conference call.
Tesla stock fell 2.4% in after-hours trading after climbing 3.6% during the regular trading session.
Tesla reported that a big selling feature of Tesla's cars, driver-assistance software that Tesla owners pay for separately, are in high demand with 75% of vehicles sold in North America including a subscription to the service.
The company calls the feature Full-Self Driving (Supervised), the word in parenthesis added after regulators said the term was misleading because the software requires drivers to stay alert and ready to take control at any time.
Profit margins also held up despite concerns that discounts to boost sales may have squeezed profitability in recent quarters. For the three months through September, Tesla reported that it made 18.1 cents for every dollar of car sales, up almost 3 cents from a year earlier.
Tesla had previously reported selling nearly 490,000 vehicles last quarter, a rise from the prior three months. The increase followed a brutal drop stretching more than a year amid backlash over Musk’s support for President Donald Trump and right-wing politicians in Europe.
The company increased capital spending, a major concern for tech investors who’ve been questioning future payoffs from artificial intelligence and how the investments will be financed. Tesla’s capital spending doubled in the third quarter to $4.7 billion.
In the conference call, Tesla said it was cutting estimates of capital spending for the full calendar year from $25 billion to $20 billion. It also noted that it had secured $30 billion in borrowing capacity should it need money to fund big projects, but probably wouldn't draw on it this year.
FILE - The Tesla logo is displayed at a Tesla dealership Thursday, Mar. 13, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, file)
