A father is being credited in early reports with stopping a deadly school shooting in Oregon after reportedly following a teenage gunman into an elementary school and shooting him. However, the heroic intervention came after four innocent people, including three young children, lost their lives.
Video
The shooting unfolded Thursday, October 15, at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, where a 16-year-old gunman allegedly opened fire with a shotgun. The victims included children ages 5, 8, and 11, along with a teacher. Another 7-year-old student and a 54-year-old educator were critically injured. The 5-year-old has been identified as Rhoam Summer.While authorities have confirmed that an armed civilian killed the shooter, emergency dispatch recordings suggest the man was a father at the school. Police have not officially confirmed whether the person was a parent. Nevertheless, the New York Post has identified the man as a “student’s dad.” Channel 2 Now also identified the hero who took down the shooter as Kaylub Giamanco.
According to emergency radio communications reported by the New York Post and Clarín, dispatchers initially alerted responding officers that the shooter had been stopped.
“Looks like the shooter has been neutralized – possibly shot by a father at the school,” a dispatcher reportedly stated.
Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz explained that the civilian witnessed the gunman entering the elementary school and decided to follow him inside.
Rather than fleeing the area, the armed individual confronted the 16-year-old as officers raced toward the building.
“Moments later, an officer reported that the suspect had been shot by a community member who had seen the suspect enter the school, and pursued him into the school and engaged him,” Krantz explained during a Thursday evening press conference.
The civilian fatally shot the suspect inside the school. Officers subsequently entered, confirmed the shooter’s death and began searching the building for victims and additional threats.
Oregon Governor Tina Kotek publicly acknowledged the intervention, describing the person’s actions as heroic.
“To the community member who heroically intervened to stop further loss of life, your actions carry a heavy emotional burden, and I just want you to know that my thoughts are with you as well,” Kotek said.
Investigators have not explained why the civilian was armed.
Authorities say the violence began shortly before 1 p.m. when someone sitting inside a vehicle near the school reported being shot at repeatedly by an individual carrying a long gun.
The first emergency call came at approximately 12:59 p.m.
Within minutes, dispatchers received numerous additional calls reporting that the shooter had entered the school.
Investigators believe the teenager forced his way inside by firing at locked entrance doors, bypassing security measures designed to prevent unauthorized access.
The school entered lockdown at approximately 1:01 p.m., and police officers arrived one minute later.
By the time officers entered the building and secured the immediate threat, the suspect had been fatally shot.
The entire initial response unfolded within minutes, although authorities spent hours searching classrooms, checking for threats and evacuating surviving students.
One witness, Irvin Ornelas, told CBS News that he believed he saw the attacker moving toward the building. His 10-year-old brother attends the school.
“I saw him throw his gun over and him jump over the fence very quickly,” Ornelas recalled.
His younger brother survived.
The shooting claimed the lives of three children, ages 5, 8, and 11, and one teacher.
A 7-year-old student and a 54-year-old teacher were also rushed to St. Charles Medical Center in Bend with critical injuries.
Officials had not announced any improvement in their conditions.
The school serves kindergarten through fifth-grade students and had approximately 459 children enrolled during the previous school year.
The impact has extended beyond the families who lost loved ones. Hundreds of students and employees experienced the lockdown, evacuation, and uncertainty surrounding the violence.
Nearby resident Erin Johnson recalled hearing gunshots before another neighbor began screaming.
“It’s heartbreaking,” Johnson told Oregon Public Broadcasting. “But they’re babies.”
Students were eventually transported by bus to Journey Church, where anxious parents gathered to reunite with their children.
Meanwhile, police remained at the school collecting evidence and reconstructing the attack.
The suspected shooter was a 16-year-old male who lived in Bend. His name has not been publicly released.
According to the Associated Press, a law enforcement official familiar with the investigation said the teenager used a pump-action shotgun reportedly purchased by his mother.
Police have not confirmed how the teenager obtained access to the firearm.
Authorities are also working to determine whether he previously attended Silver Rail Elementary, knew anyone inside or specifically targeted the school.
No motive has been established.
The FBI, Oregon State Police and federal firearms investigators are assisting with the investigation.
Hundreds of residents gathered Thursday evening at Bend’s Drake Park for a candlelight vigil honoring the victims.
Families, neighbors and community members prayed together as the city struggled to process the deaths.
Bend-La Pine Schools canceled classes, athletics, and extracurricular activities throughout the district on Friday, October 16.
Superintendent Steven Cook called the attack an “unthinkable tragedy” and said the district was prioritizing support for affected families and school employees.
The investigation now centers on how the teenager obtained the weapon, why he targeted the school, and the full circumstances surrounding the civilian intervention.
For the families grieving four lives lost and the two victims still fighting to recover, the tragedy has raised painful new questions about school safety.
