Thursday’s horrific mass shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, was not stopped by the mass of law enforcement officers descending on the site as panic spread.
Instead, a heroic bystander, a parent of two children enrolled at the school, recognized the dire situation and acted.
The 16-year-old suspect, identified as John J. Griffin of Bend, allegedly shot three students and a teacher to death, and the tragedy almost certainly would have been far worse without an armed civilian present.
Concealed carry permit holder who stepped up identified
Several parents told media outlets that Griffin entered a special education classroom and began shooting.
It was just before 1 p.m. when the shooter was confronted by a person driving a Toyota Tacoma in the parking lot. The teenager fired several times into the vehicle, reportedly with his mother’s shotgun, before shooting the locks off the school doors and getting inside.
CNN reported that the witness followed the shooter into the building and fatally shot the teenage suspect.
The good guy with a gun was 36-year-old Kaylub Giamanco, a carpenter and father of two girls who attend the school. His brother, Kyle, told NBC News that the dad was not picking up his kids but merely running home during his lunch break when he heard gunshots.
Kyle Giamanco confirmed that his brother is a concealed carry permit holder and that he did not immediately speak out because he feels guilt over not being able to save all the victims. That burden is unquestionably something many survivors carry, but there is no doubt that Kaylub Giamanco saved numerous lives.
The next time anti-gunners try to demonize good citizens who exercise their right to keep and bear arms, an Oregon carpenter will be the perfect rebuttal.
Police cannot be everywhere, and ordinary armed Americans become heroes
Police officers arrived three minutes after the first 911 call, but the job was already done. Dispatchers revealed the intervention in audio that spread online.
“Looks like the shooter has been neutralized–possibly shot by a father at the school,” first responders were told. “Not sure about patients at this time.”
CNN interviewed Stephen Willeford, the Texas man who stepped up and helped end a massacre at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs. He believes Thursday’s shooter chose the school to target because it was off limits to firearms.
“There’s no mistake why this murderer went into a school because it’s a gun-free zone, and he thought he would get less resistance,” he said.
Willeford added that Giamanco “was probably just thinking of the children and the teachers, the defenseless people that were being murdered by a crazed young man.”
It was November 2017 when a man opened fire in the Texas church and murdered 26 before Willeford used his personal firearm to stop the attack.
After his life-saving intervention, he became an advocate for having armed and trained individuals stationed at such “soft targets.”
Even with classes canceled Friday, a makeshift memorial quickly appeared, and mourners gathered to remember the victims. The school parking lot was still full of cars.
Thursday was to be picture day for students at Silver Rail Elementary School.
Reactions that immediately poured in ranged from sensible to political grandstanding.
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek (D) ordered flags flown at half-staff to honor the victims. She noted the armed father’s valiant actions and the struggles he will undoubtedly face in the aftermath.
“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,” the governor said.
A teacher in the building, Kathy Sheil Smith, witnessed the shooter’s rampage and expressed her appreciation for the civilian’s response. “That person saw something. They did something, and that took its own courage. I’m just grateful that that person was able to apprehend the suspect.”
Then there was long-time Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), who jumped at the opportunity to call for more oppressive firearm restrictions.
“The best way to honor these victims is to at long last pass common-sense gun laws that reduce the risks of more children, parents, teachers and staff forced to live in fear of similar nightmares for their schools,” the senator said in a statement.
Away from Oregon, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) took the opportunity to call for more federal gun control. “No family should ever have to suffer like this–and there have been more than 50 school shootings just this year,” she posted online. “Congress must do much more to prevent gun violence.”
An armed hero did exactly that on Thursday.
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