Oregon school shooting: 'Heroic' police praise those who intervened to prevent more carnage
US police have praised the actions of three people who averted a deadly school shooting in Oregon. Three children and a teacher were killed in the attack, which was carried out by a former student at the school.
Oregon school shooting: Police hail 'heroism' of those who intervened
10/17/2026 October 17, 2026 US police have praised the actions of three people who averted a deadly school shooting in Oregon. Three children and a teacher were killed in the attack, which was carried out by a former student at the school.
Police in the northwestern US state of Oregon have identified the gunman who shot and killed four people at a school as a former special needs student, while praising those who intervened to prevent more killings.
Three children, ages 5, 8 and 11, died in Thursday's clash, along with a 25-year-old female teacher, before the gunman was killed by the father of two students at the school in Bandh.
In this attack, another young child and a teacher were also injured.
Who intervened to prevent more deaths in Oregon?
A man in a car outside the school who was shot and killed by a 16-year-old gunman was the first to alert police of the danger.
Before they arrived, however, a female teacher confronted the shooter after he had killed the victims with a 12-gauge shotgun in the school's special needs classroom.
As the two wrestled with each other, a man identified by family as Kaylub Giamanco, a 36-year-old father of two daughters at the school, walked in with his legal weapon and shot the gunman dead.
When he heard gunshots, he realized that a teacher was fighting with the suspect, Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz told reporters, and fired his weapon and hit the suspect several times.
"When someone is willing to put their life on the line for others, we recognize that. A teacher who is willing to stand up and fight for their kids... unbelievable. That's true heroism and we don't see that often in society."
Praise Trump for reviving the gun control debate
US President Donald Trump also welcomed Giamanco's actions.
"It's a terrible thing, but thank God for a man who had a gun and knew how to use it," he told reporters.
The shooting has drawn the usual reactions from both sides of the perennial debate over gun control laws in the United States.
The National Rifle Association (NRA), one of the main and most powerful opponents of stricter civilian gun ownership laws, welcomed the actions of armed observers.
"Yesterday's horrific act of violence in Oregon serves as yet another reminder of the importance of a law-abiding armed citizenry," the NRA said in a post on X.
However, gun control advocates once again decried the relative ease of purchasing firearms in the United States, which they see as a major factor in the country's high rate of gun deaths compared to most other developed nations.
"America's gun violence crisis is killing our babies. GIFFORDS gun control group said enough is enough.
According to an analysis by the education information portal Education Week, there have been 26 school shootings in the United States so far this year that have resulted in injury or death.
According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been more than 360 mass shootings across the country this year.
It defines mass shootings as incidents in which at least four people, excluding the shooter, are shot.
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Timothy Jones is a writer, translator and editor with DW's online news team.