Kaylub Giamanco, the father who fatally shot a gunman at Silver Rail Elementary School in Oregon, has apologised to the parents of the victims he could not save. Three children aged five, eight and 11, along with a teacher, were killed in the attack.
Giamanco described himself as the "last line of defence" during the shooting, expressing regret that he did not arrive sooner. "I want to apologise for not saving their babies, that's probably the biggest thing for me right now," he said. "The gratitude for saving people's children is awesome. But there were ones that I didn't save."
The Attack at Silver Rail Elementary
The shooting occurred last week when 16-year-old Griffin J. John II, a former student, forced his way through locked doors with a shotgun and attacked a special needs classroom. Another student was critically injured, and a teacher was injured and hospitalised.
Giamanco had dropped off his daughters at the school that morning before heading to work. Hours later, the 36-year-old carpenter was passing the school on his way home for lunch when he spotted someone in black carrying a long gun. The gunman fired at a pickup truck and a person mowing the lawn before climbing a fence toward the building.
The Confrontation
Giamanco grabbed a .40-caliber handgun from his truck's centre console and dialled 911, asking for help before hanging up. "I said 'I'm sorry I have to go in. People are going to die,'" he recalled. Crawling on his stomach, he heard "children pleading for their lives" and gunfire, prompting him to move faster.
He entered through a shot-out window and saw a teacher grappling with the shooter. Police said another teacher threw her phone at the attacker and wrestled with him before Giamanco fired. After the gunman reached for his shotgun, Giamanco shot him twice more. "I was afraid of him shooting anybody else," he said.
Aftermath and Recognition
Police confirmed Giamanco was legally carrying his gun and credited him and the unarmed teacher with saving lives. President Donald Trump called him a "great hero" who "took care of business." Teacher Becky Drury, who was injured, said she lay still after a blast nearly severed her left hand. The teacher who struggled with the shooter remains unidentified; Giamanco called her "a real true hero."
"I can't tell you what it feels like to take a life … but I can tell you that I genuinely feel like I was supposed to be there," Giamanco said. "If I wasn't there, I just don't know what would have happened."
