Oregon school shooting hero Giamanco: 'I couldn't save all the children'

Kaylub Giamanco fatally shot the Silver Rail Elementary gunman but is haunted by those he couldn't save. Three pupils and a teacher died in the attack.

Carpenter who stopped Oregon school gunman speaks of guilt and grief

Kaylub Giamanco, the father who shot dead the gunman who attacked Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, has spoken publicly for the first time about his anguish over the children he could not save. In an interview with Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) aired on Friday, and reported by bbc.com, the 36-year-old carpenter said he wanted to apologise to the families of those who died.

"I want to apologise for not saving their babies," Giamanco said. "The gratitude for saving people's children is awesome, but there were ones that I didn't save."

Three students — boys aged five, eight and 11 — and a teacher were killed earlier this month when a 16-year-old former pupil opened fire inside a classroom at the school. A second child and another teacher were wounded. Police identified the attacker as Griffin J John II, a former student who had attended special education classes at the school. His motive remains under investigation.

'I have to go in'

Giamanco told OPB that the day had begun ordinarily. He and his wife had taken extra time getting their daughters ready because it was school picture day. He had brought lunch to work but decided to return home to eat with his wife instead. That detour took him past the school just as the attack was unfolding.

He initially thought someone carrying a long gun might be playing a prank. When the individual fired at a pickup truck and moved toward the school building, 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 told the broadcaster.

He followed the attacker, who shot through the school's locked glass doors. Hearing children pleading for their lives and more gunfire inside, 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 and reached the classroom, where a teacher was already locked in a struggle with the gunman. Giamanco opened the door and fired. When the attacker reached for his weapon, he fired again. He then placed his gun on the ground and raised his hands as a police officer arrived.

Teacher credited as 'a real true hero'

Giamanco credited a teacher who fought the attacker with giving him the critical window to intervene. Police said she had thrown her phone at the gunman, tackled him, and wrestled for his shotgun. Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz said she "almost certainly helped prevent more bloodshed."

"I would love to give her a hug because that's a real true hero," Giamanco said.

The teacher who was killed was identified as Megan Lambert, 25, described by her family as working in her "dream job." They said she "always fought for the underdog and those with special needs." The injured teacher, Becky Drury, 54, said in a statement that the gunman shot her as she tried to shut her classroom door. The youngest victim, five-year-old Rhoam Summer, was remembered by his father as leaving the family "broken and lost." The other two boys have not been publicly named at their families' request.

'I see faces, I hear screams'

Giamanco said he described the experience to his mother by phone immediately after the attack.

"Mum, I just had to take the life of what I think is might be a child because he ran into my daughter's school with a gun," he told her.

He said he felt like the "last line of defence" between the children and the gunman and that he "was supposed to be there" that day. He also said he wanted to meet the victims' families and "cry with them and hold them."

Oregon Governor Tina Kotek praised his intervention shortly after the shooting while acknowledging its personal 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'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.

Despite being widely described as a hero, Giamanco told OPB that the trauma has not left him. He now lies awake each night after his family goes to bed, replaying what happened inside the school.

"I relive, I see faces, I hear voices, I hear screams," he said.

Source: Google News MT