A shooting at Silver Tracks Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, on Thursday killed three children and a teacher and seriously injured two others, authorities said.
Bend police said the suspect, a 16-year-old male, was shot and killed by a bystander.
The three children killed along with the teacher were ages 5, 8 and 11, Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz said at a news conference Thursday night. Two other people, a 7-year-old child and a 54-year-old teacher, were taken to St. Charles Medical Center with serious injuries. No names were immediately released.
Krantz said around 1 p.m., police received a 911 call reporting they had been shot multiple times in a car by a suspect armed with a long gun. Emergency dispatchers then received dozens of 911 calls indicating the suspect had entered the school.
Krantz said the gunman forced his way into the school by “shooting through the locked door.”
Krantz said when police arrived at the school within three minutes of receiving the first 911 call, they found the suspect had been killed by a bystander.
“An officer reported that the suspect was shot by a community member who saw the suspect enter the school and chased him into the school and engaged him,” Krantz told reporters.
When police entered the building, they found four victims, Krantz said.
Officials did not disclose exactly what type of weapon was used in the attack or how many bullets were fired. Multiple law enforcement sources told CBS News the suspect used a shotgun.
No motive was disclosed. Police also could not say whether the suspect had ties to the school. No details were provided about the bystander who shot the suspect.
Kranz said authorities evacuated the school and moved all students and staff to a nearby church where they could be reunited with their families.
“An unimaginable tragedy occurred today at Silver Track Elementary School,” Bundela Pine Principal Steven Cook said in a news release. “No community should have to do what we are doing. I have no words for how this community is feeling right now.”
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FBI Director Kash Patel said the agency’s local office responded to the scene and assisted local law enforcement. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was also on scene assisting local authorities, including Oregon State Police, a law enforcement source said.
Oregon Governor Tina Kotek praised the bystander’s “heroic intervention to prevent further loss of life” and said the man’s actions carried a “heavy emotional burden.”
“All Oregonians mourn this loss today,” Kotek said at a news conference. “This is a horrific day. No parent should have to experience a day like this. No community should have to experience a day like this.”
Bundela Pine Schools said all schools in the area will cancel classes and sporting events on Friday because of the shooting.
Bend is located in central Oregon, about 150 miles southeast of Portland.
According to the K-12 School Shooting Database, there were 235 shootings in U.S. K-12 schools last year. There have been at least 149 such incidents so far this year, including one in Bend, Oregon. While still higher than pre-pandemic levels, school shootings appear to be down from their peak in 2023.
