Father who stopped Oregon school shooting describes how he killed gunman and his guilt over those who died

A father has described how he shot the gunman who killed four people at his daughter's school in Oregon and the guilt he feels about the "ones that I didn't save".

Three students and a teacher were killed during the shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend last week, before Kaylub Giamanco intervened.

In his first interview since the school shooting, carpenter Mr Giamanco revealed how chance led him to be driving past the school at the time the gunman was arriving.

"I just was in full panic, like, 'No, there's children, there's babies in there'," he told Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB).

Mr Giamanco said he called 911, before grabbing a gun he kept in his car and crawling on his hands and knees to reach the school.

"I said, 'I'm sorry, I have to go in. People are going to die'," he said.

As he approached the classrooms, he said he knew it could be the "last thing that I'm ever going to do", but he could hear "children pleading for their lives" and gunshots.

Mr Giamanco peaked through the window of a special educational needs classroom and saw a teacher wrestling with the gunman.

He fired and both the teacher and the gunman dropped to the floor.

"He was scrambling for his weapon," he said. "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."

The suspect has been named by law enforcement as 16-year-old Griffin J John, who was a special educational needs student at the school.

Mr Giamanco made his way back to his truck and called his wife and his mother.

"She was just like, 'Okay, baby, calm down. You did the right thing. You're a hero. You saved lives.' And I was just like, 'I didn't save everybody. I didn't get them all'," he said.

'The ones I didn't save'

Since the shooting, Mr Giamanco has been praised as a hero by everyone ranging from the local police chief to Donald Trump.

But he lies awake at night thinking about those who died - and their families.

"I want to apologise for not saving their babies," he said, in a voice breaking with emotion.

"The gratitude for saving people's children is awesome, but there were ones that I didn't save."

He said he would love to meet the teacher who fought off the gunman with her bare hands and thank her.

"I would love to give her a hug because that's a real true hero," he said.

Mr Giamanco is gradually becoming more comfortable with being described as a hero.

"I want to be a hero in this world," he said. "It feels like I was meant to be here and do this."

Mr Giamanco grew up in Bend, Oregon - where the attack happened - and had been taught to handle a gun in childhood.

The oldest of seven children, he said he learned the importance of responsibility from a young age after his father walked out on his family.

He received informal training in combat from an Iraq war veteran, he added - lessons he credits with equipping him for the school shooting.

"I felt like if I didn't have that training, I probably wouldn't be alive today," he said.

Under state law, possessing a handgun in Oregon is legal so long as the owner is over 18, hasn't been convicted of a felony and isn't mentally ill, among a number of other requirements.

(c) Sky News 2026: Father who stopped Oregon school shooting describes how he killed gunman and his gu