Silver Rail Elementary father’s 911 call released after shooter killed

Audio from a frantic phone call made by Kaylub Giamanco on October 15 has been released to the public. The recording, which lasted just over a minute, was obtained by The Associated Press through a public records request and shared on Tuesday. It details the final moments before Giamanco entered Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, to stop the shooter.

Giamanco, who was driving home for lunch, told the 911 operator that someone with a gun was at the school his daughter attends. "I have a gun and I will shoot them right now," he said during the call. The operator urged him to wait for an officer, but the exchange grew tense as Giamanco became frustrated. He told the dispatcher, "I’m about to go kill this kid," seconds before noting that the shooter was entering the building.

The shooter, identified as Griffin J. John II, was 16 years old. He shot his way through locked doors into the special needs classroom. Three children, ages 5, 8, and 11, and a teacher were killed. Another student was critically injured, and a second teacher was hospitalized with injuries.

Before Giamanco arrived, Cassidy Schutz, a certified learning specialist, confronted the shooter inside the classroom. She threw her phone at the attacker and tackled him, wrestling for control of his weapon. Giamanco later described Schutz as a "real true hero" because her actions created an opening for him to act. Schutz, who was identified by Bend-La Pine Schools last week, wrote that there were no words to describe her sadness. She said the event is a "horrific and heartbreaking tragedy" and that her focus is on the families and her own healing.

Becky Drury, the other teacher in the room, said she tried to shut the door but the shooter was already there. "Before I could do anything more, he shot me at close range and I fell to the ground," Drury said. She was shot in her left hand and right arm. Unable to rise, she pretended to be dead to avoid further shots.

Giamanco climbed through a window and peeked into the classroom, where he saw Schutz and the shooter in profile. He stepped inside and fired his gun. The teacher ran from the room, and the shooter reached for his shotgun. Giamanco shot the boy two more times to ensure he could not move. "I felt like I was the last line of defense between him and the rest of the children," Giamanco said in an interview with Oregon Public Broadcasting.

Giamanco expressed regret in that interview for not arriving soon enough to save everyone who was killed or injured. The 911 call ended after the operator tried to gather more information as the shooter fired inside the building.