In a raw, candid interview with Oregon Public Broadcasting aired Friday, 36-year-old carpenter Kaylub Giamanco — the father of two daughters enrolled at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon — opened up about the harrowing moments he intervened to neutralize a 16-year-old former student gunman earlier this month, an act that has earned him widespread public acclaim but left him grappling with crippling guilt over the lives he could not spare.
The deadly rampage unfolded on what was meant to be a cheerful school picture day: Giamanco had planned to eat his pre-packed lunch at his job site, but a last-minute decision to return home to share the meal with his wife placed him in the immediate vicinity of the campus just as the violence erupted. At first, he assumed the individual carrying a long gun near the property was pulling a tasteless prank, but that illusion shattered the second he witnessed the teen fire at a passing pickup truck and advance toward the school entrance.
Giamanco grabbed a handgun from his vehicle, dialed emergency services, and told dispatchers he could not wait for law enforcement to arrive, as bystanders would surely lose their lives if he delayed. He crawled toward the building past the sound of children screaming and begging for their lives, later recalling he fully expected the encounter to be the final act of his life. He slipped through a broken, bullet-shattered window to reach the classroom where the attacker had already opened fire, and found 25-year-old teacher Megan Lambert — who held the position she had long dreamed of, and whose family remembered her as a fierce advocate for marginalized and special needs students — physically grappling with the teen to seize his shotgun. Giamanco fired at the gunman, neutralizing him before he could harm more people, then laid his own weapon on the ground and raised his hands the moment a responding police officer arrived to avoid being misidentified as a threat.
The attack claimed the lives of three young male students — 5-year-old Rhoam Summer, and two other boys whose identities have been withheld at their families’ request — alongside Lambert. Two additional people, including 54-year-old teacher Becky Drury, sustained gunshot wounds; Drury shared that she was shot while attempting to lock her classroom door to shield her students. Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz confirmed that Lambert’s brave, split-second decision to throw her phone at the gunman, tackle him, and fight for control of his weapon almost certainly prevented a far higher casualty count, a reality Giamanco echoed in his interview as he insisted the slain educator was the “real true hero” of the incident.
While communities across the state and beyond have hailed Giamanco as a lifesaver, the carpenter has been unable to shake overwhelming remorse. “I want to apologise for not saving their babies,” he said, referencing the families of the four victims, adding that he hopes to meet every grieving household soon to sit with them, cry alongside them, and offer physical comfort in their grief. He also shared that he struggles with relentless post-incident flashbacks, often staying awake long after his wife and daughters have fallen asleep, replaying the sounds of screams and the faces of the children he could not rescue. He noted he still struggles to process that he took the life of what may have been a minor, after witnessing the teen storm into his daughters’ school armed for violence.
Oregon Governor Tina Kotek has publicly recognized Giamanco’s life-saving intervention while acknowledging the immense, long-term emotional toll the experience will leave on him. Law enforcement is still investigating the motive behind the 16-year-old former special education student’s attack, and Giamanco’s family has previously issued a statement noting he does not seek public fame, and requesting that the public respect the privacy of all affected families as they navigate their healing process.
Father who killed Oregon school shooter describes anguish over children he couldn’t save
