The mother of a man credited with confronting and fatally shooting the perpetrator of a school shooting in Bend, Oregon on Thursday has shared that her son, 36-year-old Kaylub Giamanco, is originally from Placerville. Kenda Freeman also called her son "a hero" for his actions.
In new reporting from KPIX, Sacramento resident Kenda Freeman is acknowledging that it was her son who killed a teenage gunman targeting a special needs classroom at Bend's Silver Rail Elementary School earlier this week.
A father to two children who attend the school, Giamanco reportedly saw the incident unfolding while driving home on his lunch break and decided to confront the 16-year-old shooter.
According to Freeman, her son "knew something was not right."
"So he pulled up onto the grass, grabbed his gun, and basically stalked the gunman back into the school," she continued. "He crawled through a window that the gunman had shot out. He army crawled through the window."
Giamanco, per his mother, legally owns and carries a firearm. Raised in Placerville (about 45 minutes northeast of Sacramento), she said he's been living in Oregon for over thirty years, where he works as a contractor.
After killing the shooter, Giamanco apparently called his mother, who recalled her son's words on the phone:
"He said, 'Mom, I just shot and killed somebody.' I said, 'Kaylub, tell me about it.' He said, 'A man went into my daughter's school and shot kids,' and he said, 'and I looked at him point-blank, and I shot and killed him, Mom.' "
Freeman told media that she subsequently told her son that she thought he was hero and that she was proud of him.
In total, as SFist previously reported, three children and one teacher were killed by the shooter before Giamanco was able to intervene. Neither of his two children were among those killed.
According to local law enforcement, the shooter used a shotgun previously purchased by his mother. They also stated that approximately 15 rounds were fired by the suspect during the shooting.
In her interview with KPIX, Giamanco's mother further noted that her son's decision to own and carry a firearm came from a desire to protect his family in the event of an emergency.
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