US School Shooting: Three Children and a Teacher Killed by Teen Gunman

A 16-year-old gunman killed three children and a teacher at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, on Thursday, and was shot dead by a bystander, police said. Two other people were critically wounded.

Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz said the three children killed were aged 5, 8 and 11, and that all of the victims’ families have been notified. The suspect, a Bend resident, was armed with a long gun, and police have not given further details about the weapon.

HOW IT UNFOLDED

Bend Police were called at about 12.59 pm local time. Within the next minute, dispatchers received multiple 911 calls reporting that a person had entered the school and begun shooting. Officers were at the scene at 1.02 pm.

Krantz said the suspect forced his way in by shooting at locked doors. A community member who saw him enter the school followed him in and confronted him, shooting him. When officers went into the building, they found the suspect dead, along with four dead victims. Police have not said how far into the building the suspect got, or whether he had any connection to the school.

An earlier police report had said that a call came shortly before 1 pm about a man shooting into a car, which was followed by the calls from the school.

THE VICTIMS

Two people were taken to St Charles Medical Center in Bend with critical injuries. Police initially said only that “the victims include children.” The total number of casualties was unclear in the first hours of the response.

THE RESPONSE

Officers evacuated the school one classroom at a time. Children were taken to Journey Church, about five minutes away, where families could be reunited with them. Police said a large law enforcement presence would remain at the school and the church for the foreseeable future.

FBI Director Kash Patel said the bureau’s Portland office was at the scene and assisting local partners. “We will make every resource they need available,” he wrote on X. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Oregon State Police also helped local authorities.

Bend-La Pine Schools Superintendent Steven Cook said: “We are stunned and heartbroken by this senseless tragedy. We extend our deepest sympathy to the families and to everyone affected by this violence. No words can adequately express the grief our community is experiencing.”

Bend is in Central Oregon, about 150 miles southeast of Portland.

With inputs from ANI