Kaylub Giamanco, a 36-year-old carpenter whose two daughters attend the school, is the man who chased down and shot the gunman at an elementary school in Bend, Ore., on Thursday, killing him, his brother Kyle Giamanco told NBC News.
Kaylub Giamanco was driving home for his lunch break when he heard gunshots and saw the gunman enter Silver Rail Elementary School, his brother Kyle Giamanco told NBC News. He followed him in and shot him.
Federal law enforcement officials told Fox News that he was carrying under a concealed handgun license. He was not, however, at the school to pick up his kids, his brother said in response to rumors spread online. Three children, aged 5, 8, and 11, and a teacher were killed in the shooting. A 7-year-old child and a 54-year-old teacher were taken to a Bend hospital in critical condition. The 5-year-old was recognized by his family as Rhoam Summer.
Deschutes County dispatchers received the first 911 call at 12:59 p.m. from a driver who said a man with a long gun had fired at him multiple times while he was in his car, Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz said at a news conference.
A minute later, dispatchers were taking multiple calls reporting a shooter inside the school on Southeast Stone Creek Lane. Chief Krantz said the gunman forced his way in by firing at the locked doors. Police ordered the school locked down at 1:01 p.m.
Officers arrived at 1:02 p.m. "An officer reported that the suspect had been shot by a community member who had seen the suspect enter the school and pursued him into the school and engaged him," Chief Krantz said.
Silver Rail has more than 400 students from kindergarten through fifth grade. Several parents told NBC News the shooting took place in a special education classroom, which would explain the age spread of the victims. The police have not confirmed this.
The shooter has been identified by police only as a 16-year-old resident of Bend; his name has not been made public. Three senior law enforcement officials briefed on the investigation told NBC News that the gunman was John J. Griffin.
Bend police Chief Krantz would not characterize the weapon. A law enforcement official briefed on the shooting told The Associated Press it was a pump-action shotgun. Multiple news outlets reported, citing law enforcement sources, that the shotgun had been purchased by the gunman's mother. Two officials told NBC that the gun was purchased around the time of his birthday in August.
His parents told investigators that he had attended Silver Rail School as a child, a source told CNN. Police said they were still trying to pinpoint a motive and any link to the school.
It is expected that investigators will remain at the school for several days.
By CNN's tally - from the Gun Violence Archive, Education Week and Everytown for Gun Safety - this shooting was the 36th shooting on K-12 school grounds in the United States this year and the 52nd school shooting overall.
