Oregon school shooting: father who killed gunman haunted by children he could not save

Kaylub Giamanco, the Oregon father who shot dead a gunman at his daughters’ school, says he is haunted by the children he could not save during the attack that killed three pupils and a teacher.

In an interview with Oregon Public Broadcasting, Giamanco said he wanted to apologise to the families of the children who died. “The gratitude for saving people’s children is awesome, but there were ones that I didn’t save,” he said. He also said he hoped to meet the families and grieve with them.

The shooting took place earlier this month at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend. Police say the 16-year-old attacker, a former pupil, killed three boys aged five, eight and 11, and teacher Megan Lambert, 25. Another child and a teacher were wounded. The suspect, identified as Griffin J John II, was killed by Giamanco, a parent at the school. Police have said the motive remains under investigation. Read our earlier report on the police identification of the suspected gunman.

Giamanco told OPB he was passing the school when he saw the gunman fire at a pickup truck and head towards the building. He retrieved a handgun from his vehicle, called emergency services and went inside, saying he feared people would die if he did not act.

He credited a teacher who fought the attacker with giving him the chance to intervene. Police have said the teacher threw her phone at the gunman, tackled him and tried to take his shotgun. The injured teacher, Becky Drury, has said she was shot while trying to shut her classroom door; her account of the attack differs from the actions police attributed to the other teacher.

Giamanco said he lies awake after his family goes to bed, replaying what happened: “I relive, I see faces, I hear voices, I hear screams.”