Following the October 15, 2026, school shooting at Silver Rail Elementary in Bend, Oregon, carpenter Kaylub Giamanco has spoken publicly for the first time. Giamanco fatally shot the 16-year-old armed assailant, ending an attack that claimed the lives of a teacher and three children.
Kaylub Giamanco Stops School Attack
Kaylub Giamanco was simply driving home for lunch on October 15, 2026, when an ordinary workday changed outside Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon. The 36-year-old carpenter, whose two daughters attend the school, noticed a man dressed in black and armed with a long gun firing at a vehicle as he passed by the campus. At first, Giamanco suspected a prank.
That confusion vanished when the teenager fired the gun and climbed over the school fence. Pulling a .40-caliber handgun from his truck’s center console, Giamanco called 911 as he entered the parking lot.
I’m sorry, I have to go in. People are going to die,
he told the operator before scaling the fence himself.
Kaylub Giamanco Confronts Gunman in Classroom
Stalking quietly behind the shooter, Giamanco dropped to his hands and knees in the hallway. He heard children pleading for their lives and pushed forward through a broken window into a special education classroom, staying low on his knees until he reached the room.
Inside, a teacher was already physically struggling with the gunman. Giamanco swung the door open and fired. When the teenage shooter began scrambling for his weapon on the floor, Giamanco fired twice more to neutralize the threat out of fear that he would shoot anyone else. Police later identified the attacker as 16-year-old Griffin J. John II, a former student at the school.
BREAKING: Multiple people are dead following a shooting at an elementary school in Bend, Oregon, according to CBS."Several people were killed in a shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend… The suspect was shot and killed," CBS reported.Here is what we know:-… pic.twitter.com/qC0wnIjPp7
Becky Drury Describes Surviving the Attack
The attack claimed the lives of 25-year-old teacher Megan Lambert and three children, including five-year-old Rhoam Summer, along with two other children ages 8 and 11. Two others were wounded: a seven-year-old girl named Saylor Graham and 54-year-old teacher Becky Drury who was seriously injured in the classroom.
Drury issued a public statement addressing her experience and correcting earlier rumors about her actions. Once I realized something was happening outside, I ran to see what was going on. I then saw the shooter and immediately ran back into the classroom. I turned to shut the door behind me, but the shooter was already there. Before I could do anything more, he shot me at close range and I fell to the ground,
Drury stated, explaining that her left hand was almost severed and her other arm badly injured.
I could not get up, defend myself, or protect anyone else. So, I did the only thing I could do, which was to pretend to be dead in the hope he would not shoot me again.
Becky Drury, Teacher
Leaders Praise Rescuers as Kaylub Giamanco Greives
State and local leaders have publicly credited the quick interventions of both the school staff and Giamanco. Oregon Tina Kotek praised Giamanco because he heroically intervened to stop further loss of life. Police Chief Mike Krantz likewise credited the teacher who fought the gunman, noting that her resistance almost certainly helped prevent more bloodshed.
After emptying his weapon and returning to his truck, Giamanco called his wife and then his mother, Kenda Freeman, who lives in California. Freeman told reporters that her son has a genuine heart and he loves his community and his family and his children. Giamanco, however, is haunted by what he saw that day.
I want to apologize for not saving their babies. The gratitude for saving people’s children is awesome, but there were ones that I didn’t save.
Kaylub Giamanco, Parent and Rescuer
Public schools in Bend began reopening with heavy police presence as the investigation continues into the legally purchased shotgun used in the attack. Giamanco has stated he intends to use his platform to raise safety funding and advocate for school resource officers at every site, while his own daughters remain home and out of school for now following the tragedy involving Griffin J. John II.