How a driver, a dad and a teacher tried to stop the Oregon school shooter

BEND, Ore. (AP) — On an October day, a 16-year-old boy shot at a red truck and climbed over a fence into a playground. He then climbed onto the grass field leading to Silver Rail Elementary School, where hundreds of children, including those in a special needs class, were present. The boy was followed by three individuals who risked their lives to stop him.

The first person, a 36-year-old carpenter named Kaylub Giamanco, saw the boy shooting at the truck and heading towards the school. Giamanco, who has children attending the school, parked his red truck and called 911. He then drove into the parking lot with his .40-caliber pistol, legally stored in his vehicle.

At the school, the boy had broken through a locked door and shot through the glass panes of a classroom. Two teachers and four children were in the classroom. Another teacher had taken a first-grader to the bathroom. The boy entered a classroom adjacent to the broken door and continued shooting. The teachers and children heard the gunshots and hid under a table in a nearby office.

Giamanco heard the shooting and rushed towards it. A teacher in the classroom tackled the shooter, who was shot multiple times by Giamanco, ultimately killing him. While Giamanco was engaged in the firefight, a woman wrestled with the boy for control of the shotgun. The boy was killed in the exchange of gunfire. Three children in the classroom were killed: a 5-year-old, an 8-year-old, and an 11-year-old.

Another child was critically wounded. One teacher was killed, 25-year-old Megan Lambert, whose family described teaching as her dream job. Another teacher was shot in the arm and hand.

Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz praised the courage of those who intervened, noting that their actions saved lives and emphasized the heroism of the teacher who stood and fought for her students.