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Hero Dad Stops School Shooter in Bend, Oregon
· Confirmed
In Short: On October 15, Kaylub Giamanco, a 36-year-old carpenter and father of two girls who attend Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, confronted and shot the school shooter, ending a rampage that left three children and a teacher dead.
Giamanco detailed the attack in an interview with Oregon Public Broadcasting, recounting his decision to abandon a 911 call to confront the gunman directly. 'I’m sorry, I have to go in. People are going to die,' he said, expressing his determination to act.
Giamanco pursued the shooter, who was a 16-year-old boy from Bend, and fatally shot him. Police arrived minutes later to find the shooter and four victims inside the school, including three children aged 5, 8, and 11, and a 25-year-old teacher.
Giamanco's mother, Kenda Freeman, confirmed her son's identity as the hero who intervened. 'He is not seeking recognition, but instead wishes to express his gratitude to the first responders, school personnel, and community for the outpouring of love and support,' she said.
In addition to Giamanco, a teacher in the classroom threw her cellphone at the suspect and tackled him, helping to prevent further bloodshed. 'He crawled through a window that the gunman had shot out. He army-crawled through the window,' Giamanco's mother added.
President Donald Trump praised Giamanco's actions, calling him a 'great hero that went in and did the business.' Superintendent Steven Cook of Bend-La Pine Schools expressed shock and heartbreak over the tragedy, stating, 'We are stunned and heartbroken by this senseless tragedy.'
The incident highlights the rapid response required in such situations. While officers took the shooter into custody in less than half a minute, official information to the public was delayed for hours due to directives from the mayor's office.
Giamanco's actions have been widely recognized as heroic, with community members and officials acknowledging the emotional burden he carries. 'I’ve always wanted to change the world, but I’ve felt small,' Giamanco said, reflecting on his decision to act.
The shooting in Bend is part of a broader trend of school violence. In June, at least three students were killed and about 20 others injured in an attack at a public high school in Tacloban, Philippines, and on the same day in the Philippines, a shooting in Banga town left three pupils dead, including the 16-year-old suspected gunman who turned the weapon on himself.
These incidents underscore the need for responsible firearm storage and access control, as emphasized by local officials in the Philippines. 'We need to be responsible in storing firearms. Gun owners, in particular, must make sure that minors do not have access to them,' Tamayo told Reuters.
In conclusion, while the details of the shooting in Bend and the broader context of school violence vary, the accounts agree on the heroic actions of Kaylub Giamanco and the tragic loss of life. His intervention likely saved additional lives but came at a significant emotional cost.
What's confirmed
- The victims were all pupils at the school, aged 14 to 17, said Albert Palencia, mayor of Banga town in South Cotabato, where the shooting took place.
- Three pupils were killed in a school shooting on the southern Philippines island of Mindanao on Friday, including the 16-year-old suspected gunman who turned the weapon on himself.
- Giamanco told OPB that he saw a “man in black” holding a long gun near the school grounds.
- In June, at least three students were killed and about 20 others injured in an attack at a public high school in Tacloban, where two classmates opened fire on campus.
- The mass shooting at a Bend, Oregon, elementary school on Thursday that left three children and one teacher dead took place inside a special needs classroom, authorities said at a news conference, identifying some of the victims and the suspected shooter.
- Trump said he was briefed on shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, where three children and a teacher were killed.
- BOTELHO | The National News Desk WASHINGTON (TNND) — President Donald Trump praised the Good Samaritan who shot and killed an Oregon elementary school shooter, saying the intervention likely saved lives.
What's still developing
- “I hug her, I pick her up, and squeeze her as hard as I can,” he said.
- “The suspect supposedly sat beside his friends and told them to go home ‘because after lunch, I will be executing my plan’. His friends laughed because the shooter was a known joker,” Palencia told Reuters.
- “Looks like the shooter has been neutralized – possibly shot by a father at the school,” emergency dispatchers said to responding officers, according to the New York Post.
- "It's a terrible thing, but thank goodness for a man that had a gun and knew how to use it."
- “That’s when panic fled into my brain, and that’s when I opened my center console,” he said.
- Emergency services began receiving calls for help around 12:59pm local time (19:59 GMT), with “dozens” of additional calls in the ensuing minutes.