Parent Who Stopped Oregon School Shooter Once Thanked Iraq Veterans for Teaching Him ‘Military Shooting Drills’

The parent credited with stopping last week’s deadly attack at Bend, Ore., elementary school once thanked a group of Iraq combat veterans who taught him “military shooting drills,” closing his post with the words “We owe you big time.”

On Oct. 15, Kaylub Giamanco, a 36-year-old father of two students at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, pursued Griffin J. John II, the 16-year-old gunman, into the building and shot him, “striking the suspect multiple times,” according to the Bend Police Department.

The attack killed 25-year-old teacher Megan Lambert and three children. John II also wounded a 7-year-old girl and Becky Drury, a 54-year-old teacher.

Lambert’s family remembered her in a statement read at a news conference as “compassionate” with “a huge heart.” Becky Drury has undergone surgeries and remains hospitalized with serious injuries that are not considered life-threatening.

Victim Saylor Graham, 7, is in serious but stable condition at a Portland hospital. Families of the 8-year-old and 11-year-old children who died have asked that their names not be released.

Police have credited Giamanco and a teacher who physically fought the gunman with preventing further deaths, and the intervention swiftly drew national attention.

According to The Oregonian, President Donald Trump called Giamanco a “great hero.” Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, a Democrat, praised Giamanco and acknowledged the emotional weight his actions carry.

‘We Owe You Big Time’

Eight years before the shooting, a September 2018 post on Giamanco’s Facebook account described a day at the range with combat veterans.

“I just had the honor of going shooting with a group of guys who served in combat together in Iraq!” he wrote, according to the New York Post. “They taught me military shooting drills and told lot of great stories. … Thank you, veterans and men and women of the armed forces!!! We owe you big time.”

The post describes a single outing. Neither the police nor his family have drawn any connection between that day and his actions last week. Nobody has described Giamanco as having served in the military, either.

His family says he works as a carpenter.

‘Almost Certainly Helped Prevent More Bloodshed’

Giamanco was driving home for his lunch break around 1 p.m. when he heard gunfire near the school his daughters attend, his brother, Kyle Giamanco, told NBC News.

His mother, Kenda Freeman, told CBS News he drove onto the grass, grabbed the .40-caliber pistol legally stored in his vehicle, then entered the school through a window the gunman had shot out.

Inside a classroom, a teacher had already thrown her cellphone at the gunman, a former Silver Rail student. Then, she tackled him and fought to take his shotgun.

“She was not injured in that incident, but she almost certainly helped prevent more bloodshed,” Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz said.

Giamanco fired after seeing the teacher struggling with the gunman, according to police.

Officers were called at 12:59 p.m. and arrived at 1:02 p.m. to find the gunman already shot, according to the department’s incident updates.

The entire attack began and ended inside those few minutes.

‘He Doesn’t Feel Like a Hero’

Giamanco has declined all interviews. He doesn’t feel like a hero and carries guilt that he couldn’t save more people, his brother said, according to the New York Post.

A family statement released through police said he “is not seeking recognition” and expressed gratitude to first responders, school staff and the community.

“I’m super proud of him,” Freeman told the Post from the family’s home in Bend.

Investigators have not determined why the gunman returned to his former elementary school.

Law enforcement officials told CBS News the 12-gauge shotgun he carried was purchased by his mother, though police say how he obtained the weapon and ammunition remains under investigation.

About 150 personnel from a regional major incident team and the FBI are working the case, and police have asked the public for video from the area recorded between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Oct. 15.

Silver Rail Elementary remains closed. The rest of the Bend-La Pine district reportedly returns to class this Wednesday.