At least four people, including three children, were killed in a shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, on Thursday, October 15. The 16-year-old suspect was shot dead by a bystander who followed the attacker into the school, police said. The children killed were aged 5, 8 and 11, while a teacher was also among the dead, the Associated Press (AP) reported. A 7-year-old child and a 54-year-old teacher were taken to St. Charles Medical Centre in Bend with critical injuries.
Police Chief Mike Krantz said the suspect, a resident of Bend, forced entry into the school by firing at locked doors. Investigators are still determining whether the teenager had previously attended the school. Police have not released the suspect’s identity. Emergency services began receiving calls at 12.59 pm local time, with dozens more coming in over the following minutes, AP reported. According to Krantz, the first caller was in a vehicle and reported being shot at several times by a person carrying a long gun.
The school was placed under lockdown at 1.01 pm, and officers arrived shortly afterwards. Krantz said a community member had seen the suspect enter the building, followed the teenager inside and confronted them. Police entered the school and found the suspect dead. Officers searched the building to rule out further threats before providing emergency assistance to the victims.
Authorities said the victims’ families had been notified. Students and staff were evacuated from individual rooms and taken by bus to a nearby church, where they were reunited with their families.
The investigation is ongoing, and police are expected to release further details in the coming days, Krantz said. Silver Rail Elementary School serves students from kindergarten through fifth grade and has about 450 students and 40 staff members, according to Reuters. Bend, a city of approximately 100,000 residents, is about 100 miles (160 km) southeast of Portland, AP reported.
Oregon Governor Tina Kotek urged residents to support one another in the aftermath of the shooting. She also thanked the bystander who confronted the suspect, saying the person had “heroically intervened to stop further loss of life”.
Kotek said her thoughts were with the bystander, acknowledging the emotional burden of the incident. Sheila Miller, communications manager for Bend Police, described the shooting as devastating, saying the community had never wanted to experience such an event.
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel said the agency was assisting local law enforcement with the investigation.
“We will make every resource they need available,” he wrote in a social media post.
US Senator Jeff Merkley, who represents Oregon, also expressed his support for the Bend community following the shooting.
