Giamanco recounts six shots fired to end Oregon school attack

Kaylub Giamanco fired six shots at a 16-year-old former student to stop a school shooting in Bend, Oregon. The attack at Silver Rail Elementary School earlier this month killed three students and one teacher. Giamanco, 36, spoke in an interview with Oregon Public Broadcasting that aired on Friday. He described the physical and emotional weight of the event.

On the morning of the attack, Giamanco prepared his daughters for school picture day. He had taken lunch to work but decided to return home to eat with his wife. This choice placed him near the school when the shooting began. He initially suspected a prank when he saw a man with a long gun. The man fired at a pickup truck before heading toward the building.

Giamanco retrieved a handgun from his vehicle and called emergency services. He told the dispatcher that he had to enter the school because people were going to die. He followed the attacker, who shot through the school's locked glass doors. Hearing children plead for their lives, Giamanco crawled toward the building through a shattered window.

Inside the classroom, a teacher was locked in a struggle with the gunman. Giamanco opened the door and fired. He shot again when the attacker reached for his weapon. Giamanco then placed his gun on the ground and raised his hands for an arriving officer. He described feeling like the last line of defense between the children and the shooter.

Police identified the gunman as Griffin J John II. He had attended special education classes at the school. Police said the teacher who confronted the attacker threw her phone at him and tackled him. Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz said the teacher almost certainly helped prevent more bloodshed. The teacher who was killed was Megan Lambert, 25.

The three students killed were boys aged five, eight, and 11. The youngest victim was Rhoam Summer, 5. His father said the family was broken and lost. Another teacher, Becky Drury, 54, was wounded when the gunman shot her as she tried to close her classroom door. The families of the other two boys have not released their names publicly.

Giamanco's name became public less than a day after the shooting. His mother, Kenda Freeman, read a statement asking for privacy. Oregon Governor Tina Kotek praised Giamanco's intervention. Giamanco said he now lies awake after his family goes to bed. He said he relives the faces, voices, and screams of the attack.