LOS ANGELES: Three children and a teacher were killed in a shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, on Thursday, while two other victims were critically injured, police said.
The 16-year-old suspect was killed by an armed bystander who pursued him inside the school.
The victims included children aged five, eight and 11, as well as a teacher, Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz told reporters. A seven-year-old child and a 54-year-old teacher were taken to a local hospital with critical injuries.
Police said they received an initial report from a person who said they had been shot at multiple times by someone carrying a long gun. Dozens of emergency calls subsequently reported that a shooter had entered the school, prompting law enforcement officers in the area to respond.
Officers arrived at the scene at 1:02 pm local time, within minutes of the emergency calls. Krantz said an officer was subsequently informed that a community member had shot the suspect after seeing him enter the school and pursuing him inside. Officers then entered the building and confirmed that the suspect was dead.
The police chief said the investigation was in its early stages but that initial findings suggested the shooter had forced entry by firing at locked doors. The suspect was a resident of Bend, he added.
Students evacuated after lockdown
Silver Rail Elementary School has between 400 and 450 pupils and more than 40 staff members, according to police. Following a lockdown, the Bend-La Pine School District said law enforcement officers were escorting pupils on buses to a designated reunification site, where families could collect their children.
District Superintendent Steve Cook described the incident as an “unthinkable tragedy”, saying the school community was heartbroken and horrified by the violence.
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Parents gathered anxiously near a church as they waited for their children to arrive. Drew Sharp, whose son attends the school, told media that he had faith his child was safe, although the wait was difficult.
Classes, school activities and sporting events across the district were cancelled for Friday, the district said. The school, which serves pupils from kindergarten through fifth grade, is about 170 miles (270 kilometres) south-east of Portland.
Renewed calls for gun control
The shooting has renewed calls for stronger gun control measures in the United States, where firearm violence claims thousands of lives each year.
According to the Gun Violence Archive, more than 360 mass shootings had been recorded across the country so far in 2026. The organisation defines a mass shooting as an incident in which four or more people are shot.
GIFFORDS, a gun safety organisation, expressed solidarity with the victims and their families in a statement posted on X, saying the country could no longer accept such incidents as a normal part of life.
Oregon Congresswoman Janelle Bynum also condemned the violence, saying children continued to be killed while families were forced to live in fear.
The United States has repeatedly witnessed deadly school shootings, prompting demands for stricter firearm regulations. However, efforts to introduce significant changes to gun laws have faced persistent opposition from powerful pro-gun groups and their political allies.
