Oregon father reflects on the cost of saving students from a school shooter

A shooting at an Oregon elementary school in late October left three students and a teacher dead, and the father of two pupils has now detailed the intense emotional toll of the day. The incident occurred at Silver Rail Elementary School, where a sixteen-year-old former student opened fire in a classroom. The gunman was ultimately killed by Kaylub Giamanco, who is now reflecting on the events in a recent interview.

Giamanco, a thirty-six-year-old carpenter, spoke to Oregon Public Broadcasting on Friday about the parents of the children who did not survive. He expressed a deep desire to meet those families and share in their grief. He described feeling a mix of gratitude for the lives he saved and sorrow for the ones he could not. He specifically mentioned wanting to embrace a teacher who fought the attacker, calling her a true hero for buying him the time needed to intervene.

The three students who died were boys aged five, eight, and eleven. In total, six people were shot in the classroom. Along with the teacher who was killed, another student and another teacher suffered injuries. The teacher who was killed, Megan Lambert, was twenty-five years old. Her family described her as someone who always championed those with special needs, a role she held in what they called her dream job.

Giamanco explained that the day began like any other, with extra time spent preparing his daughters for their school photos. He had taken his lunch to work but chose to return home to eat with his wife. That routine decision brought him past the school just as the violence started. He initially thought the person with a long gun was joking, but after seeing the attacker shoot a pickup truck, Giamanco grabbed a handgun from his car and called emergency services.

Hearing children cry for help, Giamanco crawled toward the building through a shattered window. He described feeling like the final barrier between the gunman and the children. He found a teacher struggling with the shooter, opened the door, and fired his weapon. He shot again when the attacker reached for his gun. After placing his own weapon on the floor and raising his hands, he called his wife to tell her he would not be home for lunch.

Police identified the shooter as Griffin J John II, a former pupil who had attended special education classes at the school. His motive is still under investigation. Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz noted that the teacher who tackled the gunman and threw her phone at him likely prevented further casualties. The injured teacher, Becky Drury, said she was shot while trying to close her classroom door.

Giamanco’s identity became public quickly, leading his mother to ask for privacy on his behalf. Oregon Governor Tina Kotek praised his actions while acknowledging the heavy burden he now carries. Giamanco said he often lies awake at night, replaying the sounds and faces from that day. He described hearing screams and seeing the expressions of the children as he tries to process the experience.