Police said he had a legally concealed .40 calibre in his vehicle, while his brother said he grabbed the pistol “and decided to go in after” the suspect. Police say he fired at the suspect “multiple times”, killing him.
Giamanco’s mother, Kenda Freeman, who lives in Sacramento, California, told a local CBS station that her son had called her moments after the shooting and that he was “traumatised”.
“He said ‘a man went into my daughter’s school’,” Freeman recalled, pausing as she started to tear up. “And, um, shot kids. And he said, ‘and I looked at him point blank, and I shot and killed him, mum’.”
She added: “I told him he saved a lot of lives, and he said, ‘mum, I couldn’t save them all’.”
US President Donald Trump praised the bystander on Friday, calling him a “great hero” and telling reporters that the situation could have become “much worse”.
“It’s a terrible thing, but thank goodness for a man that had a gun and knew how to use it,” he said.
Without naming the bystander, Oregon Governor Tina Kotek acknowledged the man’s heroic actions as having stopped further loss of life, but noted they “carry a heavy emotional burden and I just want you to know that my thoughts are with you as well”.
Additional reporting by Kayla Epstein
