His brother says the 36-year-old carpenter heard gunfire while heading home for lunch and followed the attacker into the school his daughters attend.
Those wishing to help financially can visit the GoFundMe fundraiser, Stand With Kaylub: A Father’s Courage at Silver Rail
The community member we thanked in our earlier report on the hero who stopped the Silver Rail Elementary School shooter now has a name. Kaylub Giamanco, 36, is a carpenter whose two daughters attend the Bend school, his brother Kyle told NBC News. Kyle said Kaylub was heading home for lunch on Thursday when he heard shots and saw the gunman enter the building. He followed the attacker inside.
According to Kyle’s account to NBC News, Kaylub has a concealed-weapon permit and pursued the gunman into a special education classroom. NBC reported that parents also described that classroom as the location of the shooting, but said police had not confirmed that detail. The family’s account also clarifies why Kaylub was nearby: he was on his lunch break, rather than there to collect his daughters. The New York Post’s follow-up likewise attributes these details to the brother’s NBC interview.
Kyle called his brother a hero, but told NBC that Kaylub is struggling with the children he could not save and does not feel ready to speak publicly. That account deserves compassion as much as his intervention deserves recognition. Here at That Oregon Life, we are grateful for his courage, and we hope the attention surrounding his actions comes with respect for his need for privacy and support. No expression of thanks should become an expectation that he immediately relive those moments for an audience.
For readers catching up, three children, ages 5, 8 and 11, and a teacher were killed in the October 15 attack. A 7-year-old child and a 54-year-old teacher were hospitalized in critical condition, according to The Associated Press’s reporting on the police briefing. The 16-year-old shooter also died. Those losses remain at the center of this story, even as Bend learns more about the person who intervened.
Police Chief Mike Krantz said a bystander followed the teenager into the school, confronted him and fatally shot him, according to OPB. The suspect had forced entry by firing at locked doors. In our initial coverage, families were being directed to Journey Church for reunification while authorities worked through the emergency. Friday’s family account adds the personal details that were missing when we first reported the intervention.
Gratitude for Kaylub and grief for the victims belong in the same conversation. We can thank a father who entered danger while remembering the families whose children and loved ones did not come home. We can also leave space for the person being called a hero to process what happened in his own time. Our thoughts remain with the Silver Rail families, the injured, school staff and everyone in Bend facing the days ahead.
