Oregon School Shooting: 911 Call From Father Who Stopped Attacker Released
Newly obtained audio captures the frantic minutes before Kaylub Giamanco entered Silver Rail Elementary to kill the 16-year-old shooter who had already taken four lives.
By Gabriela Ivanov ·
The Associated Press obtained a 911 recording from the father who shot and killed a student shooter at an Oregon elementary school on Oct. 15. The audio, released Tuesday via public records request, details the final moments before Kaylub Giamanco entered the building.
In the recording, which lasts just over a minute, Giamanco tells the dispatcher that someone with a gun is at his daughter's school. He states he has a gun and will shoot the attacker immediately. Giamanco was driving home for lunch and spotted the shooter at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon. He expresses frustration with the operator, telling her he is about to go kill the kid.
The call ends abruptly after Giamanco confirms the shooter is entering the building and firing. Earlier that day, 16-year-old Griffin J. John II broke through locked doors into the special needs classroom. He killed three children, aged 5, 8, and 11, and a teacher. Another student was critically injured, and a second teacher was hospitalized.
A teacher inside the room attempted to stop the shooter before Giamanco arrived. Cassidy Schutz, a certified learning specialist, threw her phone at the attacker and tackled him. She wrestled with John for control of the weapon until Giamanco entered through an open window. Giamanco described Schutz as a true hero whose actions provided him with an opening.
Schutz released a statement last week identifying her role in the events. She described the incident as a horrific tragedy affecting their real lives. She said her focus is on the families, the school, and her own healing. Her colleague, Becky Drury, stated she had no time to shelter the children. Drury was shot in her left hand and right arm at close range. She pretended to be dead on the floor to avoid further injury.
Giamanco told Oregon Public Broadcasting that he regrets not arriving sooner. He climbed into the school through a window and saw Schutz and the shooter in profile. He stepped into the room and fired his gun. The teacher ran from the room while the shooter reached for his shotgun.
Giamanco said he fired two more shots to ensure the shooter could not move. He feared the attacker might shoot anyone else if he remained mobile. He described himself as the last line of defense between the shooter and the other children in the building.
