Police and school officials confirmed that Griffin was a former special needs student at the elementary school, where all of Thursday's victims were shot inside a single special education classroom. New York Post reports detailed a history of family conflict predating Griffin's birth, while an earlier television interview showed his mother saying pandemic school closures had hurt his access to a specialized program for students with intensive behavioral and social skills challenges.
The attack, carried out with a shotgun investigators believe was purchased by Griffin's mother, killed Lambert and three children ages 5, 8 and 11, including kindergartener Rhoam Summer, and left a 54 year old teacher and a 7 year old girl who uses a wheelchair in critical condition after she was shot in the face. Following the shooting in a city that had gone more than a year without a homicide, Democratic Rep. Janelle Bynum of Oregon said, "Our babies are supposed to do arts and crafts at school, not use their desks as cover from gunfire."