Three children and a teacher killed in shooting at Bend, Oregon, elementary school

Three children and a teacher were killed on Thursday, October 15, when a 16-year-old opened fire at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, according to Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz. The suspect was found dead inside the school. Police have not given a motive.

What police said happened

Krantz said emergency services received a call at 12:59 p.m. Pacific time from a person in a vehicle who reported being shot at several times by someone with a long gun, and that officers arrived at 1:02 p.m., according to Reuters as published by The Express Tribune. Dozens of calls followed reporting that the shooter had gone into the school, and the school was put under lockdown, Reuters reports. Police said the suspect forced his way in by shooting at locked doors, according to a report carried by Greater Kashmir.

The school serves kindergarten through fifth grade. Reuters puts enrollment at about 450 students and 40 staff, citing officials; the Oregon Department of Education reported 459 students last year, according to NorthEast Now.

Casualties

Krantz said four people were killed: three children and a teacher. He said another child and a 54-year-old teacher were injured and in critical condition (Reuters; Greater Kashmir). An earlier report from Pratidin Time said the conditions of those injured were not immediately known.

How the suspect died

The accounts differ in detail. Krantz said an armed community member saw the suspect enter and pursued him into the school, and that police later entered and confirmed the suspect was dead, according to Reuters. Greater Kashmir, in a report drawing on AP, quotes Krantz as saying police found the suspect dead minutes after the shooting was first reported, and police spokesperson Sheila Miller as saying he was shot and went down shortly after officers arrived. NorthEast Now reports that Miller said it was not immediately clear who shot the suspect and that it might have been a bystander. The reports read do not identify the community member.

Oregon Governor Tina Kotek thanked the person, saying they "heroically intervened to stop further loss of life," Reuters reports.

The weapon

Police did not say publicly what weapon was used, according to the reports read, but a law enforcement official speaking anonymously to AP said it was a pump-action shotgun bought by a family member of the suspect (Greater Kashmir). Police said they did not know whether the suspect had attended the school or knew anyone there, per Miller.

Response

Reunification of children with parents took place at a nearby site on Thursday evening, and all Bend-La Pine schools were ordered closed on Friday, according to Pratidin Time. The FBI is assisting local authorities, that report says. Krantz said it would be a long investigation. Bend-La Pine Schools Superintendent Steven Cook said in a statement that the district was heartbroken, NorthEast Now reports.