Oregon father recounts confronting gunman at elementary school

A Bend, Oregon, father who fatally shot a gunman inside his daughters’ elementary school says he thought he might die as he crawled toward the sound of gunfire and children pleading for their lives.

Kaylub Giamanco, a 36-year-old carpenter, described the Oct. 15 attack at Silver Rail Elementary School in an interview with Oregon Public Broadcasting. Three children, ages 5, 8 and 11, and a 25-year-old teacher were killed. A 7-year-old girl and a 54-year-old teacher were wounded, CBS News reported. Police identified the gunman as 16-year-old Griffin J. John II.

Giamanco was passing the school on his way home for lunch after deciding not to eat the food he had packed. He had also considered stopping to buy bolts but chose to head home for leftover tacos with his wife, according to NBC News.

Near the school, he saw a “man in black” with a long gun firing at a vehicle. NBC News reported that Giamanco also saw him shoot at a woman mowing the school lawn. Giamanco said he initially thought it might be a prank. Then he watched the gunman throw the weapon over the school fence and climb after it.

Giamanco retrieved a.40-caliber handgun from his truck and drove into the school parking lot. He called 911 but cut the conversation short. “I’m sorry, I have to go in. People are going to die,” he recalled telling the dispatcher.

He tried to stay out of sight as he followed the gunman. He heard shots at the school doors, then children pleading and more gunfire. “I just started army crawling faster and faster and I told myself this is probably the last thing that I’m ever going to do,” he said.

Giamanco crawled through a broken window and reached a special education classroom. There, he said, he saw a teacher struggling with the gunman. Giamanco opened the door and fired. When the gunman reached for his weapon, Giamanco said, he shot him twice more because he feared the teenager could shoot someone else.

Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz praised both Giamanco and the teacher, who fought to take the gunman’s weapon. Krantz said the teacher’s actions “almost certainly helped prevent more bloodshed,” according to CBS News. Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek said Giamanco “heroically intervened to stop further loss of life.”

After police and first responders arrived, Giamanco returned to his truck, emptied his gun and called his wife and mother. His mother told him he had saved lives. “I didn’t save everybody. I didn’t get them all,” he recalled answering.

Giamanco said he has struggled to sleep and replays the attack at night. “I relive, I see faces, I hear voices, I hear screams,” he said. He also spoke of the families who lost children: “I want to apologize for not saving their babies.”

He initially avoided public attention but said he decided to speak because he wants to use his voice to make a difference. He hopes to raise money to improve safety at local schools, CBS News reported.