Sawt Falasteen - 'Great hero' praised for saving lives in Oregon school shooting

Kaylub Giamanco raced into Silver Rail Elementary in Bend after the shooter, identified by local media as 16-year-old John J. Griffin II, blasted his way through locked doors and opened fire on youngsters.

Kyle Giamanco said 36-year-old Kaylub, who has two children at the school, was driving home for his lunch break when he heard gunshots and saw Griffin going into the special education room of the school.

Kaylub Giamanco has a permit to carry a concealed weapon, his brother told NBC, adding that he was having difficulty processing events at the moment and feels guilty that he did not save more people.

US President Donald Trump hailed Giamanco as a "great hero."

"As bad as it was, we had a great hero that went in and did the business," Trump told journalists. "It's a terrible thing, but thank goodness for a man that had a gun and knew how to use it."

On Friday morning the small city of Bend, in the US northwest, was struggling to come to terms with a tragedy that took the lives of children aged five, eight and 11, as well as a teacher, the latest victims of America's epidemic of gun violence that all-too-frequently afflicts the nation's schools.

City streets were quiet in an area known for its natural beauty, with hiking trails and ski pistes nearby that attract tens of thousands of visitors every year.

Kristen Vanetsky, 52, told AFP she was in shock over the shooting at her grandson's school.

"My grandson should be in his classroom, with all of his friends," she said.

"Everybody should be in there learning, having fun, looking forward to their weekend, and it's just vacant," she said. "There's nothing. Even the birds are not here."

- Gun violence -

Even as the city tried to process the tragic events, the familiar contours of an argument that plays out after every school shooting in the US began to harden.

The politically powerful National Rifle Association (NRA) praised the then-unidentified bystander who stepped in to prevent even greater loss of life at Silver Rail Elementary School.

"Yesterday's terrible act of violence in Oregon serves as another reminder of the importance of a law-abiding armed citizenry," the NRA said in a post on X.

The man's actions "exemplify the heroism of everyday citizens who are prepared and ready to respond when innocent lives are on the line," it added.

The NRA has invested millions of dollars campaigning for gun rights and supporting politicians who block the limits on ownership that the vast majority of Americans support.

The organization's opponents again lamented the ready availability of weaponry in a country where rates of gun-related death rates are among the highest in the developed world.

"America's gun violence crisis is killing our babies. Enough is enough," gun-control group GIFFORDS said on X.

More than 360 mass shootings have been recorded across the United States this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which defines them as incidents in which at least four people are shot, excluding the gunman.

- Long gun -

The violence erupted in Bend on Thursday afternoon, with police officers rushing to the campus of the small school after reports of an active shooter.

Bend police chief Mike Krantz said in addition to the children who died at the scene, another child and a teacher were rushed to the hospital with critical injuries after the shooting.

Krantz said his department first learned of an active shooter after a call from a person who reported being shot at by a person carrying a long gun.

Griffin, who has not been formally identified by police, is understood to be a Bend resident.

NBC, citing law enforcement officials, said the gun he used was purchased by his mother in August, around the time of Griffin's birthday.

The elementary school is approximately 170 miles (270 kilometers) southeast of the city Portland. It serves primary-age students in kindergarten through fifth grade.

D.Qudsi--SF-PST