Oregon school shooter stopped by dad, tackled by teacher

A 36-year-old father on his lunch break shot and killed a teenage gunman inside an Oregon elementary school Thursday after the attacker entered with a shotgun, killing three children and a first-year special education teacher. Police say the rampage at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend ended only because two civilians — one armed, one unarmed — engaged the shooter directly.

Kaylub Giamanco saw the teenager walk into the building. He ran to his car, grabbed a legally secured .40-caliber pistol, chased the shooter inside and fired fatal shots, according to authorities. Before Giamanco reached him, an unnamed learning specialist threw a cellphone at the gunman and tackled him, Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz said Friday.

“The teacher… was willing to stand and fight for her children,” Krantz said. “I think we all recognize that that is true heroism. She almost certainly helped avoid more bloodshed.”

Megan Lambert, 25, died in the attack. It was her first teaching job. She had joined the Bend-La Pine Schools district this fall as a special education teacher. Inclusion educational assistant Becky Drury was wounded. A 7-year-old girl also sustained injuries. Both are recovering, police said.

The dead children include 5-year-old Rhoam Summer and two others, ages 8 and 11, whose families have asked that their names remain private.

Bend sits roughly 170 miles south of Portland. The shooting stands as one of the deadliest attacks on an American elementary school since the 2012 massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, where 20 children and six educators were killed. Unlike Sandy Hook, which ended when the gunman took his own life as police arrived, the Bend attack was halted by bystanders already on the grounds.

Giamanco had two daughters attending Silver Rail Elementary School. His intervention drew immediate public praise from community members and law enforcement alike.

“Our hearts are broken,” the Bend-La Pine Schools district wrote in a social media post Saturday. “They responded to an attack on their school in a way for which we are forever grateful.”

Residents gathered near the campus Saturday. Flowers, chalk messages and prayers covered the sidewalk outside the building.

“We continue to wrap our arms around Becky Drury,” the district stated, noting she survived the gunfire. Officials confirmed the learning specialist who physically confronted the shooter was unharmed.

Police have not released the identity of the teenage gunman or specified how he obtained the shotgun used in the assault.