An Oregon carpenter who fatally shot a teenage gunman at his daughters’ elementary school spoke publicly for the first time Friday, expressing grief and remorse for the victims he could not rescue.
Kaylub Giamanco, 36, intervened during the Oct. 15 attack at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, after spotting an armed intruder outside the building. In an interview with Oregon Public Broadcasting, Giamanco described the quick series of decisions that put him directly in the path of the violence and the emotional toll that continues to follow him.
“I want to apologize for not saving their babies,” Giamanco said during the interview, referring to the families of the young victims. “The gratitude for saving people’s children is awesome, but there were ones that I didn’t save.”
A detour that led into danger
Giamanco said his presence near the campus that afternoon was entirely unplanned. He had packed a lunch for work but opted instead to drive home to eat leftover tacos with his wife, ABC News and NBC News reported. He had also thought about making a quick stop at a masonry store for bolts before choosing to go directly home, bringing his truck down Brentwood Avenue near the school just before 1 p.m.
As he drove past, Giamanco saw a figure dressed in black carrying a long gun. The suspect fired at a pickup truck and toward someone mowing the school grounds before throwing the weapon over a perimeter fence and climbing after it. Realizing the danger, Giamanco retrieved a .40-caliber handgun that he legally kept inside his vehicle’s center console and pursued the attacker.
He dialed 911 while moving toward the grounds, telling the emergency dispatcher that he could not stay on the line to answer questions. “I said, ‘I’m sorry, I have to go in. People are going to die,’” Giamanco recounted to the broadcaster.
Confronting the gunman
Police identified the shooter as 16-year-old Griffin J. John II, a former student who blasted his way through locked glass doors with a shotgun. Four people died in the assault: 25-year-old teacher Megan Lambert and three male pupils aged 5, 8 and 11, including five-year-old Rhoam Summer. Two others — an injured student and teacher Becky Drury, who was shot at close range — were hospitalized.
As he approached the building on his hands and knees, Giamanco said he could hear gunfire and children pleading for their lives. Believing he might not survive the encounter, he pulled himself through a shattered window and reached a special education classroom, where an unarmed teacher was actively wrestling with the teenager.
Giamanco credited that unidentified teacher with saving lives and giving him an angle to act. He swung into the room and fired at the shooter. After the teenager fell and reached back toward his shotgun, Giamanco fired two additional rounds to stop him from shooting anyone else.
“I felt like I was the last line of defense between him and the rest of the children,” Giamanco said.
Praise and lingering grief
Authorities and political leaders swiftly praised Giamanco and the educator who grappled with the shooter. Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz said the community could not overstate the courage displayed by both adults. President Donald Trump also publicly commended the father, calling him a hero who intervened decisively.
Despite the commendations, Giamanco said he has struggled to sleep, persistently reliving the screams and images from inside the school. Looking ahead, he said he hopes to use his public platform to advocate for increased campus security, including placing school resource officers at every educational facility.
