“I HEAR THE SCREAMS”: FATHER WHO STOPPED OREGON SCHOOL SH..TER HAUNTED BY CHILDREN’S FINAL MOMENTS
“I HEAR THE SCREAMS”: FATHER WHO STOPPED OREGON SCHOOL SHOOTER HAUNTED BY CHILDREN’S FINAL MOMENTS
Kaylub Giamanco rushed into Silver Rail Elementary School after hearing children pleading for their lives. The 36-year-old father says he is grateful he helped save others, but he cannot stop thinking about the children and teacher who did not make it home.
A father who intervened to stop a deadly school shooting in Oregon has spoken about the terrifying moments that continue to haunt him, revealing how he heard children crying out for help as he crawled towards the school building.
Kaylub Giamanco, a 36-year-old carpenter whose two daughters attend Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, described the ordeal in an emotional interview with Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) published on October 23.
The shooting happened on October 15, when 16-year-old Griffin J. John II entered the school and opened fire in a special education classroom.
Three children, aged five, eight and 11, and 25-year-old teacher Megan Lambert were killed. Two other people were seriously injured.
Police credited Giamanco and a teacher who confronted the teenager with helping prevent further casualties. Giamanco ultimately fatally shot the attacker, bringing the immediate danger to an end.
But while many have praised his actions, the father says he is struggling with the knowledge that several families lost loved ones that day.
A LUNCH BREAK THAT TURNED INTO A NIGHTMARE
Giamanco told OPB that he had been driving home during his lunch break, planning to eat leftovers with his wife, when he witnessed the events unfolding near the school.
He said he saw the teenager fire at a red pickup truck before turning his attention towards a woman working on the school grounds. The teenager then climbed over a fence and headed towards the building.
Giamanco realised that children could be in danger.
He reached into the centre console of his vehicle, where he kept a legally owned handgun, and instructed Siri to call 911.
However, he did not stay on the line to answer the dispatcher’s questions. Believing he had to act immediately, he told the dispatcher:
“I’m sorry, I have to go in. People are going to die.”
He then moved towards the school, knowing his own life could be at risk.
Giamanco later reflected on how a series of ordinary decisions had brought him to that particular place at that particular time. Had he followed his original plans for lunch, he might not have been passing the school when the emergency began.
“I HEAR FACES, I HEAR VOICES, I HEAR SCREAMS”
As he approached the school, Giamanco tried to keep himself low.
He described crawling on his hands and knees near a wallball court before making his way towards the building. Along the route, he began hearing children pleading for their lives, followed by the sound of gunfire.
He said he crawled faster as the urgency of the situation became clear.
At the time, he believed he might not survive what he was about to do.
After reaching a damaged window, Giamanco crawled into the building and made his way towards the special education classroom.
Inside, he saw a teacher struggling with the armed teenager. According to his account, the attacker had not noticed him, creating an opportunity to intervene.
Giamanco entered the room and fired. When the teenager continued reaching for his weapon, Giamanco fired again because he feared the danger had not passed.
The teenager died at the scene.
In the days that followed, Giamanco found himself replaying the experience, recalling the faces, voices and screams he had encountered inside the school.
The memory has continued to affect his sleep and emotional wellbeing.
HE WANTS TO THANK THE TEACHER WHO FOUGHT BACK
Giamanco has expressed deep gratitude towards the teacher who confronted the attacker before he entered the classroom.
Police said a teacher threw a mobile phone at the teenager and then physically struggled with him in an attempt to gain control of the weapon.
Authorities have credited the teacher’s actions, alongside Giamanco’s intervention, with helping prevent an even greater loss of life.
Giamanco said he wanted to hug the teacher and thank her personally, although he did not know her name at the time of his interview.
His comments highlight how several people made split-second decisions during the emergency, each facing an extraordinary level of danger.
The actions of the teacher and the father became central to the police account of how the attack was stopped.
“I WANT TO APOLOGIZE FOR NOT SAVING THEIR BABIES”
Despite the praise he has received, Giamanco has struggled to accept that he could not reach everyone in time.
He became emotional while speaking about the children who lost their lives and the families now facing an unimaginable loss.
“I want to apologize for not saving their babies,” he said.
He explained that he was grateful to have helped other children, but continued thinking about those who had died.
His words reveal the burden he has been carrying since the shooting: relief that the attack was stopped, alongside grief for the victims and a painful sense that he should somehow have done more.
Police have said his actions helped save lives. Nevertheless, Giamanco has found it difficult to separate that outcome from the children he was unable to save.
For the families who lost loved ones, the tragedy has left questions and grief that no single intervention could erase.
HE IS ALSO THINKING ABOUT THE TEENAGER
Giamanco has spoken candidly about another difficult part of the experience: the fact that he took the life of a teenager.
He said he sometimes wonders whether a different upbringing, more love or better parenting might have prevented the events that unfolded.
“I do want to believe that if he had more love in his life and better parenting, that this could have been prevented,” he told OPB.
The remark does not excuse the violence or diminish the suffering of the victims. Instead, it reflects the questions Giamanco has been left asking himself as he tries to understand how such a devastating event could happen.
Authorities identified the attacker as Griffin J. John II, a former student at Silver Rail Elementary. Investigators have continued examining the circumstances surrounding the shooting.
The reasons behind the teenager’s actions have not been fully established publicly.
HIS OWN CHILDREN ARE STRUGGLING TO PROCESS WHAT HAPPENED
The trauma has extended into Giamanco’s family life.
Because their home is within sight of the school, the family temporarily stayed in a hotel and a vacation rental after the shooting.
Giamanco said his five-year-old daughter had repeatedly hugged him and told him she loved him. His 10-year-old daughter, meanwhile, had become quieter as the family tried to make sense of the tragedy.
He said his children would not be returning to school for some time.
For a father who entered the building knowing that children were in danger, the aftermath has brought a painful reminder that his own daughters must also find a way to feel safe again.
The family is now facing the difficult process of recovering from an event that changed their lives in a matter of minutes.
TURNING GRIEF INTO ACTION
Giamanco has said he wants to use the attention surrounding his actions to help improve school safety.
He discussed ideas for raising money to help schools install stronger door locks and bullet-resistant glass, as well as supporting the presence of school resource officers.
His goal, he explained, is to help prevent another family from experiencing the same nightmare.
Giamanco has also said he does not want his experience reduced to a political argument. Instead, he wants people to focus on practical ways to protect children and support the communities affected by school violence.
In the interview, he described himself as an ordinary carpenter from Bend who had never expected to find himself in such circumstances.
He said he had long wanted to make a difference in the world and now felt a responsibility to use his voice to help others.
His proposals are ideas he hopes to pursue; they are not yet evidence of a new school-safety programme being implemented.
A COMMUNITY LEFT TO GRIEVE
The shooting has devastated the Silver Rail school community.
Three young students and teacher Megan Lambert lost their lives. Two other people were seriously injured, and families across Bend have been left trying to explain an event that many children will struggle to understand.
Memorials appeared outside the school as residents came together to mourn the victims and support those affected.
For Giamanco, the tragedy remains intensely personal. His daughters attend the school, and he knows how close his own family came to being directly affected.
Although he has been praised for his intervention, he continues to think about the children who did not survive and the families whose lives have been changed forever.
His story is not simply about the moment he entered the building. It is also about the emotional aftermath faced by someone who acted during a crisis and must now live with what he witnessed.
Kaylub Giamanco helped bring the attack to an end, but he has been clear that he does not see himself as someone who saved everyone. He is a father grieving alongside a community, hoping that the lives lost at Silver Rail Elementary will lead to meaningful efforts to protect children in the future.
This article is based on reporting by Oregon Public Broadcasting and other news organisations published on or after October 23, 2026. The attacker was identified by authorities as 16-year-old Griffin J. John II. The investigation into the circumstances surrounding the shooting continues.
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