Bend Carpenter Who Killed Silver Rail Gunman Says He Apologizes for Children He Did Not Save

Kaylub Giamanco, a 36-year-old carpenter from Bend, Oregon, who fatally shot the 16-year-old gunman at Silver Rail Elementary School, said in his first interview since the October 15 attack that he wanted to apologize for children he could not save. "I want to apologize for not saving their babies," he said, according to The Guardian. The interview was given to Oregon Public Broadcasting, which published it on October 23, 2026.

Giamanco, who has two children who attend Silver Rail, described himself as "just a carpenter from Bend." He lives near the school. On the day of the shooting he was nearby because he had decided to drive home to eat lunch with his wife instead of the meal he had brought to work, according to The Guardian.

He said he first thought a man in black carrying a gun and heading toward the school was joking. He then saw the man fire the weapon and climb over a fence. Giamanco took a .40-caliber handgun from his truck's center console, ran into the school parking lot while calling 911, and climbed over a fence to follow the man. As he later told the 911 operator, "I have to go in. People are going to die."

Giamanco followed the gunman, identified as 16-year-old Griffin J John II, a former student, without being seen. He told OPB that he heard children pleading for their lives and gunfire as he moved forward. He crawled on his hands and knees and then through a broken window into a special education classroom, where a teacher was struggling with the gunman.

According to The Guardian, Giamanco shot the gunman in the classroom. After the gunman fell and reached for his weapon, Giamanco shot him two more times, because he feared the gunman would shoot others. Police have credited him with confronting and killing the gunman shortly after the attack began. OPB reported that police said the attack was over in about three minutes.

The gunman shot six people. Teacher Megan Lambert, 25, was killed, as were three children, including five-year-old Rhoam Summer. Two other people were injured, according to OPB.

In the interview, Giamanco said he wants school resource officers, which are police officers assigned to schools, at every school site. He also said he wants to raise funding to support school safety efforts.