BEND, OR. (THECOUNT) — Kaylub Giamanco, 36, a carpenter and father of two girls who attend Silver Rail Elementary School, has been identified as the armed bystander who intervened during Thursday’s deadly shooting in Bend, Oregon. The attack killed a teacher and three children, ages 5, 8 and 11, and critically injured a 7-year-old student and another teacher. The teenage suspect, identified by law enforcement sources as John J. Griffin II, 16, was fatally shot during the incident in Deschutes County, in central Oregon.
Giamanco’s brother, Kyle Giamanco, told NBC News that Kaylub was driving home after getting lunch when he heard gunshots and saw the armed teenager entering the school. Kaylub, who has a concealed-carry permit, decided to go inside and confront the gunman, according to his brother.
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Kyle said his brother has been struggling emotionally with what happened and feels guilty that he could not save more children. Although Kyle described his brother’s actions as heroic, Kaylub does not want to speak publicly about the shooting at this time.
Authorities have credited a community member with stopping the attacker. The names of the children and teacher killed, as well as those critically injured, had not been publicly released in the reports provided.
Investigators say the suspect gained entry to Silver Rail Elementary by firing a long gun through locked doors. Two senior law enforcement officials told NBC News that the firearm used in the attack had been purchased by the suspect’s mother around the time of his birthday in August. Authorities have not publicly established a motive for the shooting.
The first 911 call came at approximately 12:59 p.m. Thursday from a person who reported that a gunman had fired at his vehicle outside the school. The caller said the suspect then went toward the school grounds. Additional emergency calls reported that an armed person had entered the building.
Justin Penfield, whose son attends kindergarten at Silver Rail, told NBC News that he saw a man standing beside a pickup truck marked by multiple bullet holes after the school evacuation. Penfield said the man told him he had been driving back from lunch when he saw someone throw what appeared to be a shotgun over a fence and jump into the school’s playground.
The man reportedly yelled at the suspect to ask what he was doing, then came under fire. He drove away and called 911, Penfield recounted. Police arrived about three minutes after the first emergency call.
Parents described a frightening wait as students were evacuated and families were directed away from the school to a reunification location. Jenn Johnston said she received an automated lockdown call, followed by a text from her fifth-grade son saying, “Mom there was a school shooting we’re ok tho.” She and her husband rushed toward the school but were redirected to a nearby church, where they waited for hours before reuniting with their son.
Johnston said her son ran to her in tears when they were finally reunited.
Silver Rail Elementary School serves students in kindergarten through fifth grade in Bend, a city in Deschutes County in central Oregon, southeast of the Portland metropolitan area. The shooting occurred at the school at 61530 SE Stone Creek Lane. Google Maps — school location; incident scene not separately verified
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