Bend father who stopped Silver Rail school gunman gives his account: 'I have to go in'

As of 3:58 p.m. ET, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026

Kaylub Giamanco, the Bend, Oregon, father police say stopped the Oct. 15 shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School, has given his account of that day in an interview with Oregon Public Broadcasting.

Giamanco, a 36-year-old carpenter, told OPB that he saw a person with a weapon entering the school, where he had dropped off his two daughters earlier for picture day. He called 911 but hung up after grabbing his handgun, saying, "I'm sorry, I have to go in. People are going to die," OPB reported.

Three children and a 25-year-old teacher were killed, and two others were injured, when a 16-year-old with a shotgun opened fire in a special needs classroom, OPB reported. Giamanco pursued the teen into the school and fatally shot him with a handgun he kept in his truck. Police say his actions saved many lives, according to OPB.

Inside the school

Giamanco followed the shooter without being seen and at one point crawled on his hands and knees when he heard children pleading for their lives, The Guardian reported, citing the OPB interview. "I just started army crawling faster and faster and I told myself this is probably the last thing that I'm ever going to do," he told OPB.

He said he thinks about the victims' families and wishes he could have saved their loved ones. "I want to apologize for not saving their babies," Giamanco said, according to The Guardian. "The gratitude for saving people's children is awesome, but there were ones that I didn't save."

"I do want to believe that if he had more love in his life and better parenting, that this could have been prevented," Giamanco said of the shooter, OPB reported.

What he wants now

Giamanco said he wants safer schools with school resource officers at every site and would like to raise money to support school safety efforts, The Guardian reported. KTVZ said OPB shared its interview after Giamanco asked to limit interviews.

Earlier GROKsiNEWS.com coverage: Bend police say armed father stopped school gunman and Bend teacher describes Silver Rail shooting.