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Three children and an adult were killed Thursday in a shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon. The suspected gunman is also dead, shot by an armed bystander, according to police and federal law enforcement sources who spoke to Fox News.
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Shop NowBend Police Chief Mike Krantz said at an evening news conference that the children killed were ages 5, 8 and 11. A 7-year-old child and a 54-year-old teacher were taken to St. Charles Bend with critical injuries.
Federal law enforcement sources told Fox News the shooter was a 16-year-old Bend resident armed with a shotgun, and that the bystander who killed him held a concealed carry permit. Krantz said he did not yet have details on the bystander’s firearm or whether he had a permit.
According to the initial investigation, the shooter forced his way into the school by firing at locked doors. Krantz said a community member saw him enter, followed him into the building and engaged him. One federal source told Fox News the bystander “definitely prevented more deaths.”
The first emergency call came at 12:59 p.m. from a person in a vehicle who reported being shot at multiple times by someone carrying a long gun. Dispatchers then received dozens of calls reporting that a shooter had entered the school.
Officers directed the school to lock down at 1:01 p.m., and the first officers arrived at 1:02 p.m. Moments later, an officer reported that the community member had shot the suspect.
“Our officers entered the building and confirmed the suspect was dead,” Krantz said.
Investigators do not yet know how far the shooter got inside the building, whether he knew anyone at the school, or whether he had once been a student there. The FBI’s Portland field office is assisting with the investigation.
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek praised school staff, parents and first responders, along with the community member she said intervened to stop further loss of life. Bend-La Pine Schools Superintendent Steven Cook said the district was “heartbroken” and “horrified.”
“It happened to our children, to our teachers and to our families,” Cook said.
Silver Rail serves kindergarten through fifth grade. All Bend-La Pine schools, activities and athletic events were canceled Friday, and crisis counselors were made available at the Central Library. Authorities said they planned another news conference Friday afternoon.
