Oregon School Shooting Hero Haunted by Children’s Pleas

WHO:

The Guardian - The Guardian identified Megan Lambert as the 25-year-old teacher killed and Rhoam Summer as the 5-year-old child killed.

The Guardian - The Guardian reported Griffin J. John II was a former student at Silver Rail Elementary School.

CBS News - Kaylub Giamanco is a 36-year-old carpenter whose two daughters attend Silver Rail Elementary School.

CBS News - Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek praised Giamanco, saying he “heroically intervened to stop further loss of life.”

CBS News - Police Chief Mike Krantz credited a teacher who tackled the shooter and fought to take his gun.

CBS News - Police identified the shooter as 16-year-old Griffin J. John II.

CBS News - The attack killed three children, ages 5, 8 and 11, and a 25-year-old teacher; a 7-year-old girl and a 54-year-old teacher were wounded.

CBS News - Giamanco’s mother, Kenda Freeman, said he “has a genuine heart and he loves his community and his family and his children.”

NBC News - Kaylub Giamanco spoke about stopping a school shooter in Bend, Oregon.

NY Post - The hero dad was identified as the person who killed the Oregon school shooter.

NY Post - The shooter was identified as teen Griffin John.

WHAT:

CBS News - Giamanco said he was “the last line of defense” for the children.

The Guardian - Giamanco said he wanted school resource officers at every school and hoped to raise funding for school-safety efforts.

CBS News - Giamanco said that after the shooter was down, he feared the attacker might reach his weapon, so he shot him twice more to prevent him from shooting anyone else.

CBS News - Giamanco said he told Siri to call 911, but left the dispatcher’s questions unanswered because he believed people would die unless he went inside.

The Guardian - Giamanco said he wants school resource officers at every school and would like to raise funding for school-safety efforts.

The Guardian - Giamanco said he wants school resource officers at every school and hopes to raise funding for school-safety efforts.

The Guardian - Giamanco said he wants school resource officers at every school and hopes to raise money for school-safety efforts.

CBS News - Giamanco said he heard the gunman fire two shots into the school doors before hearing children plead for their lives and then hearing gunfire.

CBS News - Giamanco said he crawled through a broken window, stayed on his knees until reaching the special education classroom, and fired after seeing a teacher struggle with the shooter.

CBS News - Giamanco described the shooting as “split-second decisions while gunfire was going off, while children were losing their lives.”

CBS News - Giamanco said he first saw the gunman shooting at a vehicle, initially thought it was a prank, and then watched him throw the gun over the school fence and climb over it.

CBS News - Giamanco said his truck contained a .40-caliber handgun he rarely used; he retrieved its magazine from another compartment before driving into the school parking lot.

CBS News - Giamanco said he emptied his weapon after first responders arrived, then called his wife and mother.

CBS News - Giamanco said, “I’ve always wanted to change the world, but I’ve felt small,” and that he would use his voice “to change this world, to make it a better place.”

CBS News - Giamanco said he had avoided the limelight after the shooting but decided to share his story; he had issued a brief statement thanking first responders and the community.

CBS News - Giamanco said he called 911, then entered the school, crawled through a broken window, and fired at the shooter after seeing a teacher struggling with him.

CBS News - Giamanco said he fired two more shots because he feared the shooter might harm someone else.

CBS News - Giamanco said, “I want to apologize for not saving their babies.”

CBS News - Giamanco said he hopes to help raise funds for local schools to improve safety.

NBC News - Giamanco said, “I didn’t save everybody.”

NY Post - The hero dad recalled hearing children “pleading for their lives” as the shooting unfolded.

NY Post - The hero dad killed the shooter.

WHERE:

The Guardian - Giamanco said he lives near Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon.

CBS News - Giamanco said his mother, Kenda Freeman, lives in California.

NBC News - The shooting took place at a school in Bend, Oregon.

NY Post - The events unfolded at Silver Rail Elementary School in Oregon.

WHEN:

CBS News - The shooting occurred on October 15, 2026.

WHY:

CBS News - Giamanco said he entered the school because he believed people would die if he did not act.

CBS News - Giamanco said he replays the shooting, sees faces, hears voices and screams, and wonders whether he could have stopped the shooter sooner.

NBC News - Giamanco said the encounter haunted him.

HOW:

The Guardian - Giamanco said he decided to go home for lunch and eat with his wife rather than eat the food he had brought to work.

The Guardian - Giamanco said he lives near Silver Rail Elementary School.

The Guardian - Giamanco said he hopped over a school fence to pursue the shooter.

The Guardian - Giamanco said he quietly followed the shooter without being seen and climbed over a fence to pursue him.

CBS News - Giamanco said he happened to be passing the school after deciding to go home for lunch rather than eat the food he had packed.

NBC News - Giamanco brought down the school shooter.

NY Post - Griffin John entered the school carrying a shotgun.

(UPDATED October 24, 2026 13:03 UTC)

A father whose daughters attend Silver Rail Elementary in Bend, Oregon, says he entered the school and stopped a teenage gunman during an attack that killed three children and a teacher. Kaylub Giamanco, a 36-year-old carpenter, was passing the school when he heard gunfire and children pleading for their lives. He called 911, then climbed through a broken window and crawled toward a classroom, where he saw a teacher struggling with the shooter. Giamanco fired at the attacker, identified as 16-year-old Griffin J. John II, and fired two more shots because he feared the gunman could hurt someone else. A teacher was credited with tackling the shooter, while Giamanco was praised by Oregon Governor Tina Kotek for intervening. A child and another teacher were also wounded. Giamanco says he regrets not saving everyone and hopes to raise money for school safety, including resource officers in every school.

(UPDATED October 24, 2026 09:58 UTC)

A carpenter whose daughters attend Silver Rail Elementary in Bend, Oregon, says he rushed into the school and stopped a gunman during a deadly attack. Kaylub Giamanco was driving past when he saw 16-year-old Griffin J. John II enter the school carrying a shotgun. Giamanco called 911, then climbed through a broken window and crawled toward a special education classroom. He said he saw a teacher struggling with the shooter and fired at him, then fired two more shots because he feared the gunman could reach his weapon. The attack killed three children, ages 5, 8 and 11, and a 25-year-old teacher; a child and another teacher were wounded. Police Chief Mike Krantz praised the teacher’s intervention, while Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek credited Giamanco with helping prevent further deaths. Giamanco says he hopes to raise money for school safety and wants resource officers in every school.

(UPDATED October 24, 2026 07:59 UTC)

A parent who confronted a gunman at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, says he acted because he believed children would die if he didn’t intervene. Kaylub Giamanco, a 36-year-old carpenter with two daughters at the school, said he heard children pleading for their lives, climbed through a broken window and saw a teacher struggling with the shooter, 16-year-old former student Griffin J. John II. Giamanco fired at John, then fired twice more because he feared the gunman could reach his weapon. The attack killed three children, ages 5, 8 and 11, and a 25-year-old teacher, Megan Lambert. A 7-year-old girl and a 54-year-old teacher were wounded. Police Chief Mike Krantz credited the teacher who tackled the shooter. Giamanco says the shooting continues to haunt him, and he hopes to raise money for school safety and support having resource officers in every school.

(UPDATED October 24, 2026 07:09 UTC)

A father of two has described how he stopped a gunman at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, where the attack killed three children, ages 5, 8 and 11, and a 25-year-old teacher. A 7-year-old girl and a 54-year-old teacher were wounded. Police identified the shooter as 16-year-old Griffin J. John II, a former student. Kaylub Giamanco, a 36-year-old carpenter whose daughters attend the school, said he called 911, climbed through a broken window and crawled inside. He fired after seeing a teacher struggling with the gunman, then fired again because he feared someone else could be hurt. Giamanco said he believed people would die if he did not act. Oregon Governor Tina Kotek praised his intervention, while Police Chief Mike Krantz credited the teacher who tackled the shooter. Giamanco says he hopes to raise money for school safety and wants resource officers at every school.

(UPDATED October 24, 2026 02:07 UTC)

A father whose daughters attend Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, says he entered the school and stopped a gunman during a deadly attack. Kaylub Giamanco, a 36-year-old carpenter, said he heard children pleading for their lives after the shooter fired at the school doors. He called 911, retrieved a handgun from his truck, then crawled through a broken window and saw a teacher struggling with the shooter. Giamanco fired, killing 16-year-old Griffin J. John II, a former student. The attack killed three children, ages 5, 8 and 11, and a 25-year-old teacher, Megan Lambert; a child and another teacher were wounded. Giamanco said he keeps replaying the shooting and wonders whether he could have acted sooner. He hopes to raise money for school safety and wants resource officers in every school.

(UPDATED October 24, 2026 01:26 UTC)

A father whose daughters attend Silver Rail Elementary in Bend, Oregon, says he intervened during a shooting that killed three children, ages 5, 8 and 11, and a 25-year-old teacher. A 7-year-old girl and a 54-year-old teacher were wounded. Police identified the shooter as 16-year-old Griffin J. John II, a former student at the school. Kaylub Giamanco, a 36-year-old carpenter, said he was passing by when he saw the gunman shooting at a vehicle, then enter the school. After calling 911, Giamanco crawled through a broken window and reached a classroom, where he saw a teacher struggling with the shooter. He fired, saying he feared the gunman could hurt someone else. Gov. Tina Kotek praised his intervention. Giamanco said he is haunted by the victims and wishes he could have saved them all. He hopes to raise money for school safety and supports resource officers at every school.

(UPDATED October 23, 2026 23:12 UTC)

A 36-year-old father stopped a gunman at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, where 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. Police identified the shooter as 16-year-old Griffin J. John II. Kaylub Giamanco said he was passing the school when he heard shots and children pleading for their lives. He called 911, retrieved a handgun from his truck, then crawled through a broken window into the school. Giamanco said he fired after seeing a teacher struggle with the gunman, and fired again because he feared others were in danger. Police Chief Mike Krantz credited the teacher’s intervention, while Gov. Tina Kotek praised Giamanco for helping prevent further loss of life. Giamanco said he is haunted by the victims and hopes to help improve school safety.

(UPDATED October 23, 2026 21:13 UTC)

A carpenter whose daughters attend Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, says he intervened during a shooting there, killing the gunman and helping stop further violence. Kaylub Giamanco, 36, said he was passing the school after deciding to go home for lunch when he saw the shooter firing at a vehicle. He called 911, entered through a broken window and saw a teacher struggling with the gunman. Giamanco said he fired, then shot twice more because he feared the attacker could hurt someone else. Police identified the shooter as 16-year-old Griffin J. John II. The attack killed three children, ages 5, 8 and 11, and a 25-year-old teacher; a 7-year-old girl and a 54-year-old teacher were wounded. Giamanco said the shooting continues to haunt him and apologized for not saving the children. Oregon Governor Tina Kotek praised his intervention.

(UPDATED October 23, 2026 20:11 UTC)

A shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, killed three children, ages 5, 8 and 11, and a 25-year-old teacher. A 7-year-old girl and a 54-year-old teacher were wounded. Police identified the shooter as 16-year-old Griffin J. John II, who entered the school carrying a shotgun. Kaylub Giamanco, a 36-year-old carpenter whose daughters attend the school, happened to be passing after deciding to go home for lunch. He called 911, entered through a broken window and saw a teacher struggling with the gunman. Giamanco said he fired at the shooter, then fired two more shots because he feared others were in danger. Police Chief Mike Krantz credited the teacher for tackling the gunman and trying to take his weapon. Giamanco said he replays the attack and wonders if he could have stopped it sooner, adding, “I didn’t save everybody.” Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek praised his intervention.

(UPDATED October 23, 2026 19:13 UTC)

A father who confronted a school shooter at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, says the encounter continues to haunt him. The man, identified as Kaylub Giamanco, spoke about bringing down the shooter and said, “I didn’t save everybody.” The shooter was identified as teenager Griffin John, who entered the school carrying a shotgun. As the shooting unfolded, Giamanco recalled hearing children pleading for their lives. He killed John, stopping the attack inside the school. Giamanco’s account also underscored the toll of the violence: despite his actions, he said he did not save everyone. The events took place at Silver Rail Elementary, where children faced a gunman inside their school. Giamanco described the encounter as haunting, even as he helped bring the shooter down.