Kaylub Giamanco was driving home from lunch Thursday afternoon when he heard gunshots and saw a gunman enter the Oregon elementary school where his two young daughters attended. The 36-year-old carpenter ran into the school and shot the teenage suspect.
Kyle Giamanco identified his brother as the bystander and told NBC News on Friday what he was told happened.
Officials did not release the name of the community member but said the person’s actions prevented further damage to Silver Rail Elementary School.
Kyle Giamanco said his brother told him he had eaten something and gone home when he saw the gunman enter the school. Police said three senior law enforcement officials identified the suspect as 16-year-old John J. Griffin, who entered the building by shooting through a locked door.
Two officials said the gun used in the shooting was purchased by the suspect’s mother around her birthday in August.
Kyle Giamanco said his brother had a concealed weapon “and decided to pursue” the gunman. Kyle Giamanco and several parents told NBC News the shooting occurred in the special education room.
A teacher and three children aged 5, 8 and 11 were killed. Two other people at the Bend, Ore., school, a 7-year-old and another teacher, were seriously injured.
Kyle Giamanco says his brother is a hero, but Khairub Giamanco doesn’t want to talk now because he feels guilty that he couldn’t save more children.
The names of the victims and injured have not yet been released.
One parent recalled receiving an automated call from her school asking about the lockdown, followed by a text message from her son saying there had been a shooting.
“Mom, there was a shooting at school and we are okay,” the fifth-grader wrote.
Jenn Johnston said she and her husband rushed to the school but were redirected to a nearby church. They waited for hours before she was reunited with her son, with few updates from police or school officials.
“My son ran to me in tears,” she said.