16-year-old gunman kills three children and a teacher at Oregon elementary school before being shot by bystander
A 16-year-old opened fire at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon on Thursday, killing three children aged 5, 8, and 11, and one teacher. A community bystander followed the shooter into the school and shot him dead. A 7-year-old child and a 54-year-old teacher were also critically injured and transported to the hospital.
The attack began at 12:59 p.m. when a 911 caller reported being shot at multiple times by a person carrying a long gun from a vehicle. Dispatch then received dozens of calls reporting a shooter had entered Silver Rail Elementary School. Police directed the school into lockdown at 1:01 p.m. and arrived on scene at 1:02 p.m., according to Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz. Officers found the suspect had already been shot and killed by a bystander who had witnessed him enter the building and followed him inside.
The gunman forced entry into the school by shooting at locked doors, police said. It remains unclear how far into the building he advanced. Krantz said investigators have not yet identified a motive, confirmed whether the shooter had any prior connection to the school, or determined exactly how many rounds were fired. The FBI is assisting in the investigation, according to FBI Director Kash Patel. Fox News reported, citing the Associated Press, that the weapon used was a shotgun belonging to the shooter's mother.
The bystander was characterized by police as a "community member." An initial EMS radio dispatch described the person as possibly a father at the school, though officials did not confirm that detail. Fifth-grade teacher Kathy Sheil Smith told CNN affiliate KPTV she spotted the shooter through her classroom window, alerted the main office, and moved her students into a corner. "They were so afraid. The looks on their faces was really hard to see," she said. "I'm sure that every teacher at the school thought today is the day that I am going to die."