Hero Dad Told 911 He Was Ready to Shoot Oregon School Gunman Before Rushing Inside as His Daughters Were Among the Children at Risk

A father who rushed into an Oregon elementary school to stop a teenage gunman first made a frantic call to 911, warning that he was prepared to shoot the attacker if necessary, newly released audio has revealed.

Kaylub Giamanco, 36, became widely praised for his actions during the October 15 shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, where his two young daughters were students.

The newly released recording captures the terrifying moments before he entered the building and fatally shot the 16-year-old gunman, potentially preventing further deaths.

“Someone’s at the school, at my daughters’ school with a gun. I have a gun, and I will shoot them right now if I have to,” Giamanco told the emergency dispatcher.

His voice was filled with urgency as he tried to explain what was happening outside the school.

The father had been driving home for lunch when he noticed a teenager carrying a firearm near the campus. At first, he could hardly process what he was seeing.

The gunman, later identified as Griffin J. John II, had reportedly fired at a pickup truck before throwing his weapon over the school’s fence and climbing after it.

Giamanco realized the teenager was heading toward the building where his daughters were attending classes.

He immediately contacted emergency services and told the dispatcher that he was armed. When asked whether he knew the suspect, he responded that he did not.

“This is my daughters’ school. I’m about to go kill this kid,” he said.

The dispatcher attempted to gather more information and urged him to explain the situation. But the father was increasingly distressed as he realized the attacker had entered the school.

“God damn it, they’re shooting people. Come on!” he exclaimed during the call.

The recording ends as the dispatcher tells him that help is on the way.

But Giamanco did not wait for officers to arrive.

In previous interviews, he described hearing the gunman fire into the school’s entrance before hearing children screaming and pleading for their lives.

He said he knew he had to get inside.

“I said, ‘I’m sorry, I have to go in. People are going to die,’” he later recalled.

Armed with his legally owned handgun, Giamanco entered through a broken window and moved toward the special-education classroom where the shooting was taking place.

Inside, a teacher, Cassidy Schutz, was already fighting the attacker. She had tackled the teenager and was struggling with him in an effort to stop the violence.

Giamanco said he saw the teacher grappling with the gunman and fired his weapon. He later described shooting the attacker again when he appeared to reach for his firearm.

The teenager was fatally shot.

Police subsequently praised both Giamanco and the teacher, saying their intervention likely prevented additional casualties.

However, the attack had already taken four lives.

Three children, aged five, eight and 11, were killed alongside 25-year-old teacher Megan Lambert. A seven-year-old girl and another teacher, 54-year-old Becky Drury, were also injured.

Giamanco’s two daughters survived.

The father later admitted that the experience had left him deeply affected. In an interview with Oregon Public Broadcasting, he described repeatedly hearing the children’s screams and seeing the faces of those who had been caught in the attack.

He also expressed painful feelings of guilt because he had not been able to save everyone.

“I didn’t save everybody. I didn’t get them all,” he said after speaking with his mother in the aftermath of the shooting.

He later apologized to the families who lost children, saying he wished he could have done more.

The newly released 911 recording has provided another glimpse into the split-second decisions made by the father before he entered the school.

It also reveals how close the danger was to his own family. His daughters were inside the building while the gunman was moving through the campus.

For Giamanco, the incident was not about seeking recognition. He had previously said he was simply a father who happened to be in the right place when children were in danger.

But the recording has brought renewed attention to the extraordinary events at Silver Rail Elementary School and the teacher and parent whose actions helped stop the attack.

The investigation into the shooting continues, while the Bend community is left mourning the four victims and supporting the children, families and school staff affected by the tragedy.

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