A memorial outside Silver Rail elementary school in Bend, Oregon/ Photograph: David Ryder/ReutersA memorial outside Silver Rail elementary school in Bend, Oregon/ Photograph: David Ryder/ReutersOregon man who killed school shooter reportedly took part in military drills with Iraq veteransNew details emerge about Kaylub Giamanco, who went on to elementary school campus and shot Bend suspect dead
New details are emerging about the parent who fatally shot the 16-year-old shooter who killed three children and a teacher in Oregon last week.
In a 2018 Facebook post, Kaylub Giamanco, the 36 year-old carpenter who shot and killed the shooter, said he had gone through “military shooting drills” with veterans who fought in Iraq.
In addition to the four people killed, the shooting in Bend left a seven-year old student in hospital, receiving “lifesaving care”, and 54-year old teacher Becky Drury with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
The shooter, 16 year-old Griffin J John II, first opened fire outside the school with a shotgun, aiming at a driver who tried to confront him. He then shot through locked doors, forcing entry on to the elementary school campus.
Giamanco, who has two daughters at the school, was driving back from his lunch break when he heard gunfire coming from the campus. He parked his car near the building, took a legally registered 40-caliber pistol from his vehicle and raced inside, according to Bend police.
Before his arrival, a teacher threw a cellphone at the assailant and tackled him, and tried to wrestle the gun from his hands. Shortly after, Giamanco fired several close range shots at John, killing him.
In September 2018, Giamanco expressed that he had gone “shooting with a group of guys who served in combat together in Iraq”. It is not clear if this was part of a training exercise. Neither Bend police nor Giamanco and his family have made a connection between the shooting drills and the incident.
After the shooting in Bend, Giamanco called his mother, Kenda Freeman to recount the incident, she told CNN affiliate KOVR in Sacramento, where Freeman lives.
“He said, ‘Mom, I just shot and killed somebody.’ And I said, ‘Kaylub, tell me about it,’” Freeman said.
He told his mother that he shot the assailant at point-blank range and killed him.
“It’s tough because I’m, well, I’m thankful that my babies are OK,” Freeman told KOVR. “There are babies that are not. And that’s … that’s hard to swallow, because my heart goes out to those families. They didn’t get to bring their babies home.”
Giamanco’s brother, Kyle Giamanco, told the New York Post he was not comfortable with being described as a hero.
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