Kaylub Giamanco fired six rounds to stop Oregon school attack

Three boys, aged five, eight, and 11, died in a classroom at Silver Rail Elementary School in Oregon earlier this month. Their deaths followed a shooting by a 16-year-old former student, an attack that was stopped by Kaylub Giamanco, 36. Giamanco fatally wounded the gunman but said the incident left him with deep regret over the children he could not reach.

In an interview with Oregon Public Broadcasting aired on Friday, Giamanco addressed the families of the victims. "I want to apologise for not saving their babies," he said. He acknowledged the gratitude from those he saved but focused on the others. "The gratitude for saving people's children is awesome, but there were ones that I didn't save," Giamanco explained. He expressed a desire to meet the grieving parents to support them personally. "I want to meet them and cry with them and hold them," he said.

Giamanco credited a teacher for his survival. He said her fight against the attacker gave him the opportunity to intervene without losing his own life. "I would love to give her a hug because that's a real true hero," he stated. The teacher, identified as Becky Drury, 54, was wounded during the attack. She said in a statement that the gunman shot her as she tried to shut her classroom door. Police noted that Drury threw her phone at the attacker, tackled him, and fought to take his shotgun.

The day of the attack began like any other for Giamanco, a carpenter. He and his wife spent extra time preparing their daughters because it was school picture day. Giamanco had taken lunch to work but decided to go home to eat with his wife. That route brought him past the school as the violence started. He initially thought someone with a long gun was playing a prank. He changed his mind after seeing the attacker fire at a pickup truck and head toward the school.

Giamanco retrieved a handgun from his vehicle and called emergency services. "I said, 'I'm sorry, I have to go in. People are going to die,'" he recalled. He followed the gunman, who shot through the school's locked glass doors. Hearing children plead for their lives, Giamanco crawled toward the building. "I told myself this is probably the last thing that I'm ever going to do," he said. He crawled through a shattered window to reach the classroom.

Inside, a teacher was locked in a struggle with the gunman. Giamanco opened the door and fired. He fired again when the attacker reached for his weapon. He then placed his own gun on the ground and raised his hands as an officer appeared. He described himself as the "last line of defence" between the children and the shooter. After the confrontation, he called his wife to tell her to get to the school immediately. He then called his mother.

Police identified the gunman as Griffin J John II, a former pupil who had attended special education classes at the school. His motive remains under investigation. The youngest victim was Rhoam Summer, aged five. His father said the family was "broken and lost." The teacher killed in the attack was Megan Lambert, 25. Her family described her job as her "dream job" and said she always fought for the underdog and those with special needs.

Giamanco's name became public less than a day after the shooting. His mother, Kenda Freeman, read a family statement saying he was not seeking recognition and asking for privacy. Oregon Governor Tina Kotek praised his intervention while acknowledging the emotional cost. "Your actions carry a heavy emotional burden, and I just want you to know that my thoughts are with you as well," she said.

Giamanco told OPB that he now lies awake after his family goes to bed, replaying the events. "I relive, I see faces, I hear voices, I hear screams," he said.