An Oregon resident who intervened to stop a 16-year-old gunman after he fatally shot four people at a Bend elementary school has been identified as the father of two students at the school.
The Thursday attack at Silver Rail Elementary left three children — ages 5, 8 and 11 — and one teacher dead. A 7-year-old child and a 54-year-old teacher were taken to a local hospital in critical condition. The shooter, who is believed to have used a shotgun purchased by his mother, also died.
Many details about the shooting, which has shaken the community of Bend, located roughly 175 miles southeast of Portland, remain unknown. Police continue to investigate, with additional updates expected on Friday.
Kaylub Giamanco, 36, was identified as the individual who subdued the gunman, according to his brother, who spoke to NBC News. Giamanco, a carpenter and father of two girls enrolled at the school, was returning home from lunch when he heard gunfire and saw the gunman enter the building. Previously, officials had said that a heroic “community member” stepped in and subdued the gunman.
NBC News further reported that the suspect was Griffin John II, a 16-year-old resident of Bend, citing law enforcement officials. The 5-year-old victim was also identified by a family member as Rhoam Summer. The shooting is believed to have occurred in the school’s special education classroom.
The violence began at approximately 12:59 p.m. Thursday, when the first caller reported that an unknown man had fired into a car outside the elementary school. Within the next minute, dispatchers received “dozens” of calls reporting that someone had entered the building and opened fire.
Law enforcement immediately issued an alert directing all available officers to the scene and ordered the school into lockdown. Bend police officers arrived at 1:02 p.m. — three minutes after the initial call.
But by the time they reached the school, the gunman had already been confronted.
The community member, now identified as Giamanco, saw the suspect entering Silver Rail Elementary, followed him into the building and engaged him, police chief Mike Krantz said during a Thursday press conference. Seconds after officers arrived, radio traffic reported that the shooter had been shot and killed, possibly by a bystander.
“It looks like the shooter has been neutralized, possibly shot by a father at the school,” the emergency dispatch audio said.
Police later entered the school and confirmed that the 16-year-old was dead. Officers also found four people who had died from their injuries, while two others were hospitalized. The school was evacuated, and a reunification site was established nearby.
Oregon officials and residents praised Giamanco’s fast intervention.
“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,” Oregon Governor Tina Kotek said Thursday.
“That person saw something,” a fifth-grade teacher at the school told KPTV. “They did something, and that took its own courage. I’m just grateful that that person was able to apprehend the suspect.”
The shooting sent shockwaves through Bend, a city of roughly 100,000 people in central Oregon. Officials, who have not indicated the shooter’s motivation, said the investigation remains ongoing.
“This is going to be a long investigation,” Krantz told reporters, noting that every Bend police officer had completed a full day of active threat training in August. “Unfortunately, this is something we train for on a regular basis, and we must.”
“This is a terrible tragedy,” he added. “There are not really any words I can say to you that will make this better.”
“We are heartbroken. We are horrified,” Steven Cook, the superintendent of Bend-La Pine Schools, said Thursday. “This is the kind of thing you hear about in other places and pray that it never happens here.”
By Thursday evening, hundreds of residents had gathered at Drake Park for a vigil featuring songs and prayers for the victims, their families and the school community.
Officials are expected to provide more updates in a press conference on Friday afternoon.
A number of the state’s Democratic lawmakers took to social media to press for changes to gun laws.
“Once again we must ask how many schools must be shot up before Republicans agree to act to curb gun violence,” Oregon Senator Ron Wyden wrote on X.
There have been 436 mass shootings in the U.S. in 2026, according to the Mass Shooting Tracker, which defines mass shootings as incidents during which four or more people are shot.
The Independent has contacted the City of Bend Police Department for comment.
