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BEND, Ore. — The man who stopped a deadly elementary school attack in Oregon by chasing down the teenage gunman and shooting him inside the building is the father of two girls who attend the school, his mother said Friday.
In a statement read to reporters, Kenda Freeman said her son, Kaylub Giamanco, intervened in Thursday’s attack at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend and shot the gunman.
Three students and a teacher were killed in the attack, and a fourth student and another teacher were critically injured.
“He is not seeking recognition, but instead wishes to express his gratitude to the first responders, school personnel and community for the outpouring of love and support,” Freeman said, noting that her son is a lifelong resident of Bend, a mountain-ringed city of about 100,000 in central Oregon.
She said her family was asking for privacy “during this difficult time.”
Police haven’t publicly identified the teen gunman or member of the public who shot him, only saying that the gunman was found dead inside the building minutes after the school shooting was first reported.
Trump says the shooting could have been much worse
U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday praised the actions of a “great hero” who he said “took care of business.”
“It’s a terrible thing, but thank goodness for a man that had a gun and knew how to use it,” Trump told reporters at the White House, adding the tragedy otherwise likely would have been much worse.
Hours after Thursday’s attack, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek — without naming Giamanco — said he had followed the gunman into the school and helped end the rampage as police began arriving on the scene.
“To the community member who heroically intervened to stop further loss of life: Your actions carry a heavy emotional burden, and I just want you to know that my thoughts are with you as well,” said Kotek.
Memorials with flowers, balloons and stuffed animals popped up around the school, which sits in a densely packed neighbourhood filled with newly built homes.
Brooke Olsen, whose daughter is a kindergartner at Silver Rail, said she was amazed that a member of the public pursued the shooter.
“I think it’s miraculous that someone was there before law enforcement even arrived to stop further tragedy from happening,” Olsen said Friday, weeping at times. “I’m feeling very grateful.”
The attacker’s mom bought the gun he used
The 16-year-old suspect, identified only as a Bend resident, was found dead inside the school minutes after the first calls for help, Police Chief Mike Krantz said. Police said he got into the school by shooting through locked doors.
The children who were killed were ages five, eight and 11, Krantz said. Authorities didn’t give details about the teacher who was killed. Another seven-year-old child and a 54-year-old teacher were wounded in the attack and were taken to a hospital in critical condition, he said.
The attacker used a pump-action shotgun that was purchased by his mother, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the shooting. The official spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the investigation.
Under Oregon law, a minor may possess a shotgun if provided by a parent or by someone else with the parent’s consent.
Police said they didn’t know if the shooter knew anyone at the school or if he had attended it.
Police respond within minutes
The first 911 call came early in the afternoon from someone outside the school who reported being shot at by someone with a long gun, the police chief said. More 911 calls came from inside the school, and officers arrived within minutes, police spokesperson Sheila Miller said.
The attacker was shot and went down inside the school shortly after officers arrived, she said.
The school has students in kindergarten through fifth grade, with about 450 enrolled last year, according to the Oregon Department of Education.
Children were taken by bus to a nearby church serving as a reunification centre for families. Parents hugged, kissed and held their kids’ hands as they walked to their cars, with some bringing along favourite stuffed animals or other comfort items from home.
A community grieves
Shaken residents held a vigil Thursday night, where children drew hearts in chalk on the sidewalk and held candles side-by-side with adults.
Classes and all other activities were cancelled Friday for the area’s 32 schools.
Bend, the biggest city in central Oregon, is about 125 miles (200 kilometres) southeast of Portland. It has ballooned in population over the past three decades and is a tourism and outdoor recreation hub.
The shooting was the 28th mass killing in the U.S. this year, according to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University.
Just four years ago in Bend, a grocery store employee who had served in the U.S. army attacked a gunman who was spraying shots inside the supermarket. Both the employee, whom police hailed as a hero, and a customer were killed, and the gunman died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
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Durkin and Tucker reported from Washington. Associated Press reporters Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City, Gene Johnson in Seattle, Ed White in Detroit and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, contributed.
Haven Daley, Alanna Durkin Richer And Eric Tucker, The Associated Press
