Schools in Bend, Oregon, will be closed on Friday after a 16-year-old shooter opened fire at an elementary school in the city on Thursday, killing three children and a teacher before he was shot dead by a community member.
The children killed at Silver Rail elementary school were aged five, eight and 11, officials said.
A seven-year-old and a 54-year-old were also hospitalized with critical injuries, according to police.
The gunman, who was a Bend resident, has not been publicly identified and early on Friday the identities of those killed, those wounded and the armed bystander who followed the teen into the school and shot him were not publicly known. Officials said they are still investigating if the perpetrator had ties to the school. He shot his way through a locked gate into the school grounds and through locked doors to gain access to the premises, the authorities said.
Children and staff who heard gunfire rushed to lock classroom doors and hide.
The deadly shooting has rocked the city of 100,000 residents located on the Deschutes River, roughly 170 miles south-east of Portland, in central Oregon.
“Please hold your children, hold your loved ones tight tonight. Let them talk. Let them cry. Let them know we are going to rally and care for one another in this community,” said Steven Cook, the superintendent of Bend-La Pine Schools.
“We will get through this – but not yet. We must grieve for the loss of our community members.”
At 1.02pm, police responded to Silver Rail elementary school after receiving several reports about an active shooter. One 911 caller reported an individual armed with a long gun firing at their car. Police did not specify the firearm’s make.
Dozens of callers stated the shooter had entered the school, continuing the attack inside.
By the time officers arrived on scene, the suspected assailant had been shot and killed by the bystander, who apprehended him inside.
The attacker used a pump-action shotgun, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the shooting. The official spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the investigation.
In the aftermath of the tragedy, children were taken by bus to a nearby church serving as a reunification center for families. Parents hugged, kissed and held their kids’ hands as they walked to their cars, with some bringing along favorite stuffed animals or other comfort items from home.
The school serves kindergarten through fifth grade, roughly ages 5 to 11, and has about 450 students and 40 staff members, officials said.
Oregon governor Tina Kotek praised the intervention as heroic and extended her thoughts to the bystander. “Your actions carry a heavy emotional burden,” she said on Thursday evening.
Classes, sports and extracurriculars were canceled Friday for all 32 schools in the Bend-La Pine district.
The FBI is helping local authorities investigate the shooting, according to the agency’s director Kash Patel.
The shooting began about an hour before the school day was set to end.
“A school should be a safe place where children can learn and feel secure,” said Bend mayor Melanie Kebler. “Like so many in our community, I’m struggling to make sense of a loss that feels unimaginable.”
Gun control advocate Gabrielle Giffords, a former congresswoman who survived a mass shooting in 2011, said in a statement she was “heartbroken” by the shooting.
“This cannot continue to be a reality in our country. Leaders at every level must step up and act,” Giffords said.
Thursday’s shooting is the latest event in a grim history of recurring gun violence at schools across the US. According to Everytown For Gun Safety, there have been at least 100 incidents of gunfire on school grounds across the country in 2026, resulting in 33 deaths.
Oregon has passed several gun safety measures in recent years, including a law that requires gun owners to undergo a criminal background check and safety training before being approved for a firearm permit.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: theguardian.com
