@essielyn: In an interview with Oregon Public Broadcasting reporters 36-year-old carpenter described how a normal school day became something his family will never forget. October 15 was picture day at Silver Rail Elementary in Bend. He and his wife spent extra time getting their two daughters ready before he dropped them off and went to work. He packed lunch. Instead of eating it, he decided to drive home for leftover tacos with his wife. He thought about running errands on the way, then decided not to. Giamanco saw the teen fire at a pickup truck and a woman mowing the school lawn before climbing the school fence. He got his handgun and called 911. “I just was in full panic, like, ‘No, there’s children, there’s babies in there.’” Then he told the dispatcher he had to go inside. As he got closer to the building, he heard gunfire and children pleading. “I told myself this is probably the last thing that I’m ever going to do.” But he kept going. He told OPB he crawled through a shattered window and reached a special education classroom, where a teacher was fighting the shooter. He went in and shot the attacker, ending the attack. Police credit him with saving many lives at the school, which serves more than 400 students. Three children ages 5, 8, and 11 and a 25-year-old teacher were killed. Two other people were seriously injured, OPB reported. Later,He called his wife. “I called my wife to tell her that I’m not coming home for tacos.” Then called his mother. She tried to reassure him he had done the right thing, that he was a hero and had saved lives. His response was heartbreaking. “I didn’t save everybody. I didn’t get them all.” While people praised his courage,he was thinking about the families whose children didn’t come home. “I want to apologize for not saving their babies,”told OPB, his voice breaking. “The gratitude for saving people’s children is awesome, but there were ones that I didn’t save.” That responsibility belongs to the person who attacked those children. This dad ran into danger to stop it. He also wants people to remember the teacher who fought the shooter. Giamanco believes her actions gave him the chance to intervene and survive. “I would love to give her a hug because that’s a real true hero.” Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz recognized the courage of both Giamanco and the teacher. “I don’t think we can underestimate or underappreciate that courage,” Krantz said, according to OPB. President Trump called Giamanco “a great hero that went in and did the business.” But Giamanco told OPB he doesn’t want his family’s experience turned into political fighting. “I teach my children that we love, we accept everybody,” he said. “I don’t want to make this a political situation.” Right now, he’s struggling to sleep. “I relive, I see faces, I hear voices, I hear screams.” According to OPB, his family has been staying away from their house because they can see the school from home. They’ve been spending time together making chowder and playing board games, trying to find comfort after the tragedy. His 5-year-old keeps coming to hug him. “My 5-year-old probably a hundred times a day comes up to me and just hugs me and says, ‘I love you, Daddy.’ And I hug her, I pick her up, and squeeze her as hard as I can. I say, ‘I love you too. You’re my world.’” His 10-year-old is quieter. “She has just the biggest heart in the world and I can tell, I can see it in her eyes.” He keeps reminding her he loves her and will be there to protect her. “That’s our job as parents to be here for children, to spend time with them, to show them our love and compassion,” he said, “So that they know that they have people in this world standing behind them.” Giamanco also wants to help make schools safer. He told OPB he is considering a motocross fundraiser to support improvements like stronger doors, better locks, and bulletproof glass. He also supports having school resource officers at every school. #BendStrong #PrayForBend #SilverRailElementary #HeroDad #oregonstrong

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Saturday 24 October 2026 16:06:53 GMT