A Sacramento mother says her son is struggling to process the events of a day when he stepped into a deadly school shooting in Oregon, fatally shot the teenage gunman and helped bring the attack to an end.
Kaylub Giamanco, 36, is a father of two daughters who attend Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon. On Thursday, October 15, he was heading home during his lunch break when he encountered a situation that quickly turned into a nightmare for the school community.
The shooting left three children and a teacher dead, while another student and a teacher were injured, authorities said. Giamanco’s daughters survived the attack.
His mother, Kenda Freeman, who lives in Sacramento, said her son acted because he believed children at the school were in immediate danger. While she is grateful that her grandchildren are safe, she said the experience has left her son deeply shaken.
For Freeman, the relief of knowing her family survived is mixed with the heartbreak of knowing other parents will never bring their children home.
A mother describes her son as someone who cares about others
Freeman said Giamanco grew up in Placerville, California, before moving to Oregon more than 30 years ago. She described him as a devoted father who cares deeply about his family and the community around him.
“Kaylub has a genuine heart and he loves his community and his family and his children,” Freeman said. “He’s just a good person, in general.”
According to Freeman, her son was driving home during his lunch break when he noticed the 16-year-old gunman near the school. Sensing that something was wrong, Giamanco left his vehicle and followed the armed teenager into the building.
Freeman said her son entered through a window that had been shot out.
The confrontation ended when Giamanco fatally shot the suspect, later identified by police as 16-year-old Griffin J. John II.
Authorities have said the teenager fired as many as 15 rounds during the attack. Investigators are continuing to examine the circumstances surrounding the shooting, including the suspect’s actions before entering the school.
The phone call that changed everything
Freeman said her son called her shortly after the confrontation. The words he shared were difficult for her to absorb.
“He said, ‘Mom, I just shot and killed somebody,'” she recalled.
When she asked him what had happened, he explained that a gunman had entered his daughter’s school and shot children.
Freeman said she tried to reassure her son that he had acted to stop the threat. She told him she was proud of him and believed his intervention had helped protect others.
But Giamanco was focused on the children who did not survive.
“He said, ‘Mom, I couldn’t save them all,'” Freeman recalled.
Those words have stayed with her. While she views her son as a hero, she said he is struggling with the reality that several children and a teacher died despite his intervention.
Four victims died in the school attack
Police identified Griffin J. John II as the teenage suspect in the October 15 shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend.
Authorities said the attack killed three children and a teacher. Another child and a second teacher were wounded and remained hospitalized in the immediate aftermath of the shooting.
Investigators said the gunman targeted a classroom serving children with special needs. Police also confirmed that the suspect had previously attended the school.
A teacher attempted to intervene during the attack, throwing her cellphone at the gunman and tackling him, according to police. Authorities praised her actions, saying they may have helped prevent further loss of life.
Giamanco then confronted and fatally shot the suspect before officers arrived.
The actions of both the teacher and Giamanco have drawn attention to the split-second decisions made by people who found themselves facing an active threat. Officials have emphasized the seriousness of the incident as the investigation continues.
The motive for the shooting has not been established publicly.
Relief for one family, heartbreak for others
Freeman said she is thankful that her grandchildren survived, but that relief has been difficult to separate from the grief experienced by the families who lost loved ones.
“It’s tough because, well, I’m thankful that my babies are OK. There are babies that are not, and that’s hard to swallow because my heart goes out to those families that didn’t get to bring their babies home,” she said through tears.
Her comments reflect the emotional toll that school shootings can leave on families beyond those who were directly injured. Parents may be left trying to comfort frightened children, understand what happened and return to routines that no longer feel ordinary.
For families whose children were killed, the consequences are permanent. Freeman said those families remain in her thoughts even as she tries to support her own son through the aftermath.
She also said Giamanco has been replaying the incident in his mind, questioning whether he could have done anything differently.
According to Freeman, he has been struggling with thoughts about the children he could not save and whether there was another way the situation might have unfolded.
A family member’s praise cannot erase the trauma
Freeman has repeatedly told her son that she is proud of him. She believes he acted to protect children, including his own daughters, when he encountered the gunman.
Still, she recognizes that the experience has left him carrying a heavy emotional burden.
People who witness or intervene in violent emergencies can experience distress afterward, even when their actions help stop an immediate threat. Replaying events, struggling with sleep or feeling responsible for outcomes beyond their control can be part of the difficult period that follows a traumatic incident.
Freeman’s account suggests that her son is wrestling with precisely that kind of emotional weight. His mother’s reassurance has become one way she is trying to help him cope.
She hopes that, with time and support, he will be able to understand that he was responding to a rapidly unfolding emergency rather than judging himself by the lives he could not save.
Gun ownership enters the conversation
The shooting has also raised familiar questions about firearms and how they are accessed by young people.
Freeman said her son legally owns and carries his firearm and has been familiar with guns since childhood, including through hunting. She said he viewed firearm ownership as a way to protect his family.
According to law enforcement sources cited in early reporting, the shotgun used by the teenage suspect was purchased by his mother. Investigators are examining the circumstances surrounding the weapon and how it came into the teenager’s possession.
Freeman said broader political arguments about gun ownership are not her family’s immediate priority as they deal with the emotional consequences of the attack.
The incident has nevertheless renewed attention to school security, access to firearms and the challenges of preventing violence before it reaches a classroom.
Authorities have not publicly established a motive for the attack, and key questions remain part of the ongoing investigation.
A mother’s message after tragedy
As Freeman tries to support her son, she also wants people to remember how quickly an ordinary day can change.
For her family, the school was not simply the location of a tragedy. It was where her grandchildren went to learn, spend time with classmates and take part in everyday childhood routines.
Now, the community must grieve the children and teacher who died while supporting those who survived.
Freeman hopes the tragedy encourages people to pay closer attention to their loved ones and the people around them.
“Hug your babies, love your neighbors,” she said.
Her message is simple, but it comes from a family that has experienced both profound relief and painful loss in the same moment.
Giamanco’s intervention helped bring the attack to an end, according to authorities. Yet for his mother, the story is not only about the decision he made that day. It is also about the emotional struggle that followed and the families who are now facing a future without the children and teacher they lost.
As the investigation continues, Freeman remains focused on helping her son recover while keeping the victims and their loved ones in her thoughts.
