American police revealed new details about the attack that claimed the lives of three children and a teacher at an elementary school in Oregon, on Thursday, noting that a teacher tried to snatch the weapon from the attacker, before the father of two girls at the school intervened and shot him dead.
Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz said in a press conference on Friday that the intervention of the 36-year-old teacher and father contributed to saving other lives during the attack on Silver Rail Elementary School.
He explained that the teacher threw her mobile phone at the attacker, then attacked him and clashed with him in an attempt to grab his weapon, before the father entered the classroom and shot the attacker several times.
Krantz added that the teacher, whose identity was not revealed and was not harmed, “likely contributed to preventing further victims,” praising her courage.
The attack resulted in the death of three children between the ages of five and 11, and a 25-year-old teacher, in addition to the wounding of a seven-year-old girl and another teacher.
The police said that the injured child, who received life-saving aid at the site of the attack, was in hospital in serious but stable condition. As for the injured teacher, Becky Drury, 54 years old, she suffers serious injuries, but they are not life-threatening.
Police revealed that the attacker was Griffin Jay John II, a 16-year-old boy who had previously studied at the same school and was a student with special educational needs.
She said he was not registered with the school district at the time of the attack, and his motives remain unknown.
According to the details revealed by the police, the attacker arrived at the school perimeter on foot, and threw his weapon over the fence, before climbing it and entering the school campus.
The driver of a red pickup truck saw what happened and confronted the boy verbally, but the latter opened fire on the truck, hitting it with at least three bullets, prompting the driver to call emergency services.
Then the attacker went to one of the entrances to the school and opened fire on the closed glass doors to storm the building, before entering directly into a class containing students from different grades with special educational needs.
The police said that all the victims were injured inside this row.
The father of two girls studying at the school was passing by in his car when he saw the shooting. He pulled into the parking lot, pulled out a .40-caliber handgun that he legally kept in his car, and entered the building.
When he arrived at class, he saw the teacher struggling with the attacker, so he shot him several times and killed him.
Police officers arrived at the site at 1:02 p.m. local time, three minutes after receiving the first report of gunfire, and the attacker had been shot dead by the father.
The police did not officially confirm the identity of the man who intervened, but his family announced that he was Cailob Giamanco, a 36-year-old carpenter, who has two daughters studying at the school.
His mother, Kenda Freeman, said he called her after the incident and was in severe shock, and told her how he shot the attacker.
She added that she told him that he saved many lives, but he answered her: “Mother, I could not save them all.”
In a statement conveyed by his mother, Giamanco said that he was not seeking recognition, expressing his gratitude to the emergency teams, school workers and the local community, and asking for his privacy to be respected.
On Friday, US President Donald Trump praised the father's intervention, describing him as a "great hero" and saying that the accident could have been much worse.
Oregon Governor Tina Kotick also praised his courage, but pointed out the heavy psychological burden that what he did could entail.
Police revealed the identities of two of the four dead: five-year-old Rom Samer and 25-year-old teacher Megan Lambert.
As for the other two children, aged eight and 11, their families requested that their identities not be revealed.
Lambert, who grew up in Bend, said teaching at Silver Rail School was her dream job, and she aspired to work in the school district where she taught.
She added that Lambert was passionate about sports, especially volleyball, for which she worked as a coach, and was keen to help and advocate for children with special needs.
The family said in a statement: “She always stood by the vulnerable and those with special needs.”
She expressed her gratitude to the father who intervened to stop the attack, and described him as a hero.
As for Rom Samer, the youngest victim, his grandfather, Brian Jolly, described him as a smart, cheerful, lively child who knew no fear, expressing the family’s shock at his killing.
He loved reading, running and climbing, and took care of his stuffed toys, especially those representing animals like sharks and dinosaurs, his aunt told The Associated Press.
Police said that the attacker used a 12-gauge Maverick 88 shotgun and fired up to 15 rounds during the attack, while about 44 additional rounds of ammunition were found in his possession and in his bag.
She added that she searched the suspect's home pursuant to a search warrant, and collected evidence from the scene of the incident, while the investigation continues to determine how he obtained the weapon and ammunition, and his motives behind the attack.
The police asked residents to provide any video recordings that might help them track the attacker's movements before he arrived at the school.
The attack sheds light on American school shootings. According to a database that tracks school shooting incidents, from kindergarten to twelfth grade, 149 incidents related to firearms have been recorded in schools since the beginning of 2026, resulting in 118 deaths and injuries.
Oregon law prohibits those under the age of 18 from purchasing firearms, but allows minors to possess them with the consent of their parents for specific purposes, such as hunting.
