A 16-year-old entered an Oregon elementary school and opened fire, killing four people — three children and a teacher — before an armed community member fatally shot the suspect, police said.
The teenager forced his way into Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend by shooting through locked doors, according to police. Authorities did not release any further information about the suspect’s identity.
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The children who died were aged five, eight and 11. A seven-year-old student and a 54-year-old teacher were also hospitalized with critical injuries, Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz told reporters.
Chief Krantz said a community member, whose identity was not disclosed, witnessed the suspect entering the school and followed him.
Police say 16-year-old suspect forced way into school before deadly shooting
A Bend City Police officer uses a police tape to cordon off the entrance to Silver Rail Elementary School
Oregon Governor Tina Kotek, who joined the briefing, praised the community member for having “heroically intervened to stop further loss of life”.
“No parent should have to have this kind of day, and no community should have to live through this kind of day. And as we learn more about the children and the adults who have been killed or injured, and their families and their loved ones, we are going to do a lot of crying, and we are going to cry together, and we’re probably going to cry privately,” she said.
School shootings have become a recurring part of life in the United States, with the country still marked by attacks including those at Columbine High School in 1999, Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018 and Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, in 2022.
Every new shooting renews the national argument over gun laws in a country where the Constitution’s second amendment protects gun rights. Supporters of gun rights have argued that arming teachers could help defend schools.
Community members grieve during a candlelight vigil
Police trained for mass shooting
Chief Krantz said all Bend police officers completed a full day of active shooter training in August.
“Unfortunately, this is something we train for on a regular basis, and we must,” he said. “This is going to be a long investigation.”
The shooting happened in Bend, a city of about 100,000 residents in rural central Oregon. It lies 280km southeast of Portland, in the high desert near the Deschutes National Forest.
Silver Rail Elementary School teaches children from kindergarten through fifth grade, generally ages five to 11. Officials said the school has about 450 students and 40 staff members.
People gather at a makeshift memorial outside the school
Gabrielle Giffords, a gun control advocate and former congresswoman who survived a mass shooting in 2011, said she was “heartbroken” by the attack in Bend.
“This cannot continue to be a reality in our country. Leaders at every level must step up and act,” Ms Giffords said.
Chief Krantz said emergency responders received a call at 12.59pm local time (8.59pm Irish time) from someone in a vehicle who reported being shot at repeatedly by a person carrying a long gun.
Within minutes, dozens more calls reported that the shooter had entered the school. Law enforcement immediately ordered the school into lockdown, he said.
Officers reached the scene three minutes later, and moments afterwards one officer reported that the suspect had been shot.
Police entered the building and confirmed that the suspect was dead, Chief Krantz said.
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