Oregon School Shooting Hero Recalls Anguish: "People Are Going to Die"

Kaylub Giamanco, an Oregon father, is being lauded as a hero after he intervened to stop a school gunman at Silver Rail Elementary in Bend on October 15, 2026. Giamanco, a 36-year-old carpenter whose children attend the school, was driving by when he witnessed 16-year-old former student Griffin J. John II, armed with a shotgun, begin his attack. The incident tragically resulted in the deaths of three children, aged 5, 8, and 11, and a 25-year-old teacher, Megan Lambert, with a 7-year-old student and a 54-year-old teacher also critically injured.

Upon seeing the unfolding violence, Giamanco retrieved his legally owned .40 caliber handgun from his vehicle and immediately called 911, expressing his urgent resolve to the dispatcher by stating, "I'm sorry, I have to go in. People are going to die." He then pursued the shooter into the school, crawling through a broken window and moving toward a special education classroom where he heard children pleading for their lives. There, he encountered a teacher actively struggling with the gunman and subsequently fired his weapon, fatally wounding the attacker.

Authorities, including Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz and President Donald Trump, have credited Giamanco with saving numerous lives by swiftly neutralizing the threat before law enforcement arrived. Despite widespread praise for his decisive actions, Giamanco has publicly expressed deep regret for the lives that were lost, stating he wishes he could have saved everyone.