The youngest child killed in a shooting at an Oregon school was a fast runner and a fearless climber who also loved reading and his stuffed animals, his aunt said.
Rhoam Summer, 5, was one of three children killed along with a teacher in the shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, a mountain-ringed city of about 100,000 in central Oregon. The other two children killed were ages 8 and 11, and a fourth student and another teacher were wounded, police have said.
"He never met a stuffie that he didn’t think needed to be rescued and cared for," said Swan Sheridan, whose sister is Rhoam’s mother.
Sheridan said Rhoam liked for all of his sea creature stuffed animals to be in his favourite colour: rainbow.
"He had a great fondness for sharks and dinosaurs and creatures that were, in his words, 'misunderstood,'" she said.
Sheridan said her nephew would climb and jump off anything and was an "incredibly fast" runner, even from a young age. "He was a little ball of energy from the moment he was born," she said.
"He was a very, very happy child," she said.
Authorities have not named the other people killed.
Police said the 16-year-old suspect got into the school by shooting through locked doors. Oregon Governor Tina Kotek has said a man followed the shooter into the school and helped end the rampage as police began arriving.
The suspect was stopped by the father of two students, the man’s mother said Friday. In a statement read to reporters, Kenda Freeman said her son, Kaylub Giamanco, intervened in the attack and shot the attacker.
Memorials with flowers, balloons and stuffed animals popped up around the school, and drew community members Friday, including Brooke Olsen. She said she was feeling grateful that her daughter — a kindergartener — was safe while also trying to "grieve and process and recover".
"This is an extremely painful day of grief for everybody in Bend, especially Silver Rail families," Olsen said.
A wounded teacher was identified by family as Becky Drury. Her mother-in-law, Yvonne Drury, said on Facebook that she had injuries to her left arm and right hand and was recovering from surgery. Her husband, Will Drury, said in a statement that they’re focusing on her recovery at an "unimaginably difficult time".
Blake Brinker said he came to a memorial at the school on Friday to pray.
"Life is such a delicate thing and I don't think anything brings that message across more than the loss of young life," he said
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