'I Was in Full Panic': Father Who Killed School Shooter Opens Up About Terrifying Moments During Deadly Attack
Kaylub Giamanco spoke out about taking down a mass shooter.
Oct. 26 2026, Published 2:30 p.m. ET
Kaylub Giamanco, the hero father who fatally shot a school shooter this month, has spoken out for the first time, RadarOnline.com can report.
On October 15, a teen gunman went into Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, and killed three children, aged 5, 8, and 11, alongside a teacher. The perpetrator likely would have killed more victims if it wasn't for Giamanco going home during lunch.
A Change in Plans
Kaylub Giamanco went home during lunch the day of the shooting.
"I had my lunch in the truck… and so I called my wife as I was about to leave Pronghorn," Giamanco told Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB). "I said, 'Hey sweetie, we had those tacos last night, those were really yummy. Do you mind reheating those? I'm going to go ahead and stop home instead.'"
But when he was only four blocks from his home, right near the school, he found himself behind a pickup truck.
'Panic Fled Into My Brain'
Giamanco called 911, then entered the school himself.
Standing near the truck was a "man in black" with a shotgun, and he shot the vehicle twice. The shooter then shot a field with a lawnmower.
The attacker went towards the fence of Silver Rail, throwing himself and his gun over it.
"That's when panic fled into my brain," the father said. "That's when I opened my center console, and I just said no no no no no, and I grabbed my gun and I put the magazine in it and I racked the action."
Knowing he had to act, the 36-year-old drove into the school's parking lot, where his own daughters attended. As he watched the shooter walk towards the school, he called 911, informing the operator of the danger.
"I'm sorry I have to go in. People are going to die," Giamanco told the 911 operator.
Confronting the Gunman
The father shot the gunman before he could take more lives.
The father concealed himself from the gunman as he snuck behind him, hiding near an adjacent court, then the hallway windows when he got in the building.
"And that's when I started hearing children pleading for their lives," Giamanco recalled. "And then I started hearing gunfire."
Knowing it was "probably the last thing he'd do," the former veteran army crawled to that classroom, where through the window the perpetrator shot through, he saw a teacher wrestling him.
"I knew that he did not know I was there," Giamanco said.
Giamanco knew this was his chance, so he opened the door and shot the gunman. The teacher, scared the 36-year-old was a second perpetrator, fled the room, leaving the two alone.
"I looked down at the gunman and he was scrambling for his weapon, and I looked at him and I shot him two more times to make sure that he couldn't move because I was afraid of him shooting anybody else," Giamanco explained.
Community Praise and Ongoing Grief
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Giamanco thinks about the children killed in the shooting.
For his actions, Giamanco has been praised by officers and his community.
"I think it's miraculous that someone was there before law enforcement even arrived to stop further tragedy from happening… I'm feeling very grateful," Brooke Olsen, a mother of a Silver Rail student, told a publication.
Oregon Governor Tina Kotek recognized Giamanco at a press conference, saying he "heroically intervened to stop further loss of life… I just want you to know that my thoughts are with you as well."
Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz told reporters he didn't think he could "underestimate or underappreciate" Giamanco's actions.
Giamanco told OPB the "gratitude" he's received is "awesome," but he thinks about the children he couldn't save and their families.
"I want to apologize for not saving their babies," he shared. Giamanco also recognized the unarmed teacher who put herself in danger fighting the gunman.
"I would love to give her a hug because that's a real true hero," he stated.
