Shooting at Oregon elementary school kills three children and a teacher; suspect shot dead
Police in Bend, Oregon, said a 16-year-old suspect who entered Silver Rail Elementary School on Thursday, 15 October, was already dead when officers arrived. Two more people, a 7-year-old pupil and a 54-year-old teacher, remain in critical condition.
What happened
On Thursday, 15 October, police were called to Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, a city of about 100,000 people roughly 280 kilometres southeast of Portland, Oregon. Teachers and eyewitnesses called 911 immediately to report an armed attack. The first call described an unknown man shooting at a car, and within minutes several more calls said a person had entered the school and begun firing. Police said the suspect broke through locked doors by shooting them. Officers arrived in strength and sealed off the school complex, while a meeting point was set up for families.
- Caller reports an unknown man shooting at a car
- Several calls report a person inside the school firing
- Officers find the suspect already shot dead, about 1 pm local time
Victims and injuries
Police said four people were killed: three children aged 5, 8 and 11, and a teacher. Two more people are in critical condition, a 7-year-old pupil and a 54-year-old teacher. At least two people were taken to hospital by rescuers, according to police. The school has about 450 pupils aged 5 to 11 and 40 staff members. Parents gathered outside the cordon as ambulances removed the dead and wounded.
- Children killed
- 3 people
- Teacher killed
- 1 people
- Critically injured
- 2 people
The suspect
CNN, citing several law enforcement sources, reported that the suspect was 16 years old. Bend police chief Mike Krantz said a citizen saw the suspect enter the school carrying a long gun, chased him and shot him, and that he was found dead shortly afterwards. Police spokesperson Silla Miller said that when officers located him he had already been shot and killed, and that the person who fired had not been identified, possibly a passerby. Unverified social media posts claimed an armed parent may have fired the fatal shot, but police have not confirmed this. The motive remains unknown.
Reactions and lockdowns
Oregon Governor Tina Kotek praised the citizen's intervention, saying it prevented the loss of more lives. She recalled visiting Silver Rail about a year earlier, when she met teachers and parents and congratulated them on the school. Bend-La Pine school district superintendent Steven Cook issued a statement describing the killings as senseless, offering condolences to the families and saying the district's first priorities were its students, staff and the emergency responders. Police first posted on X that officers were at Silver Rail after an active shooter report and urged the public to avoid the area. Lockdowns were also put in place at the Pine Ridge and R.E. Jewell elementary schools and the Caldera school, and reports said these were lifted for those three schools. Police set up a family reunification point at a church, where parents waited for news while classrooms at Silver Rail were cleared.