A 16-year-old shot and killed three children and one teacher at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon on Thursday afternoon before a bystander pursued him into the building and fatally shot him, police said.
The three children killed were aged 5, 8, and 11. A 7-year-old and a 54-year-old teacher were hospitalized in critical condition, according to Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz. The suspect forced his way into the school by shooting at locked doors, Krantz said.
Police received the first call at 12:59 p.m. local time from a person reporting gunfire directed at their vehicle. Photos from the scene show a red truck with bullet holes. Within minutes, county dispatch received 911 calls indicating the attacker had entered the school building.
The bystander who intervened saw the shooting unfold, entered the school, and engaged the suspect, killing him. Police arrived three minutes after the initial call and confirmed the attacker was dead before searching the building.
Bend Police Department spokeswoman Sheila Miller told reporters the suspect was a local teenager, though police did not release his name or other identifying details. It remains unclear whether the attacker had any connection to the school.
Steven Cook, the top administrative official of the local school district, released a statement saying the community was "stunned and heartbroken by this senseless tragedy." Schools in Bend were closed Friday to allow the community time to heal.
Silver Rail Elementary serves approximately 450 students and employs more than 40 staff members. The school received new classroom doors in 2022 that can be locked with the flip of a switch, according to local media reports.
According to the K-12 School Shooting Database, 235 shooting incidents occurred at American schools in the previous year, with at least 140 recorded so far this year.