Bend police say 16-year-old killed four at Silver Rail Elementary

A 16-year-old Bend resident forced his way into Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, on Thursday afternoon and shot and killed three children and a teacher before an armed bystander who had followed him inside shot him dead.

The children who died were 5, 8 and 11 years old, Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz said at an evening news conference. A 7-year-old child and a 54-year-old teacher were taken to St. Charles Bend with critical injuries. Officers found five people dead at the scene, including the shooter, and all of the victims' families had been notified by Thursday night.

Neither the teenager nor the man who shot him has been publicly identified. Krantz described the person who intervened only as a community member and gave no other description of him. The adult killed in the attack was a teacher, and a second teacher was among the two people taken to the hospital.

What the police account establishes

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, Krantz said. Dispatchers then took dozens of calls reporting that a shooter had entered the school. An alert summoning all law enforcement went out at 1 p.m.

Responding officers directed the school to lock down at 1:01 p.m., and the first officers arrived at 1:02 p.m. The shooter forced his way into the building by firing at locked doors, according to the initial investigation. A community member saw him enter, followed him inside and engaged him, and moments after officers reached the school one of them radioed that the community member had shot the suspect.

They cleared the school to ensure there were no additional threats, and then rendered emergency aid to the victims.

Krantz said he did not yet have details about the bystander's firearm or whether the man held a concealed carry permit. Federal law enforcement sources told Fox News that the bystander was carrying under a concealed carry permit and that the teenager was armed with a shotgun. One of those sources told the network the bystander had prevented more deaths.

Krantz described the weapon only as a long gun and declined to give the specific type. He said investigators did not yet know how far the shooter had gone inside the building or whether he knew anyone at the school, and that they were checking whether the teenager had previously attended Silver Rail Elementary.

Bend police, the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office, Redmond police, Oregon State Police and federal law enforcement partners evacuated the building room by room.

Condolences and two paused campaigns

Gov. Tina Kotek praised the quick thinking and courage of Silver Rail staff and parents and of the first responders who rushed to the scene, along with the community member who, she said, "heroically intervened to stop further loss of life." Addressing that person directly, Kotek said, "Your actions carry a heavy emotional burden, and I just want you to know that my thoughts are with you as well."

The governor said the Oregon Department of Emergency Management was coordinating across multiple state agencies and that the state was ready to support the community. Kotek said she had been at Silver Rail Elementary almost exactly a year earlier, spending time with educators and community members who were calling parents to thank them for the progress their children were making in attending school. "No parent should have to have this kind of day," she said.

Oregon's U.S. senators, Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, issued statements of condolence, and Wyden called for gun reform. U.S. Rep. Janelle Bynum, whose district stretches into Bend, said she was pausing activity in her reelection campaign and issued a statement condemning the attack. Her opponent in that race, Deschutes County commissioner Patti Adair, also paused her campaign and offered condolences to the victims.

Two state senators from central Oregon issued statements on Thursday. Anthony Broadman, a Bend Democrat, said that children and an educator having their lives cut short in a place that should be safe troubles the soul of every good human being. Mike McLane, a Powell Butte Republican, said central Oregon was grieving and horrified by the violence, and that his heart was with the Silver Rail Elementary community and Bend.

Schools closed across the district

Bend-La Pine Schools canceled Friday classes at all of its elementary, middle and high schools, along with district activities and athletic events.

Students and staff were taken on Bend-La Pine school buses to Journey Church to be reunited with families and guardians, a process still underway when Krantz briefed reporters on Thursday evening. A crowd of parents had gathered outside the school, and officers asked the public to stay away. The school had 459 students last year, according to the Oregon Department of Education.

Every Bend police officer completed a full day of active threat training at a local high school in August. "Unfortunately, this is something we train for on a regular basis, and we must," Krantz said.

Federal agents join the investigation

The FBI's Portland field office said it was assisting local authorities with the investigation. "We will make every resource they need available," FBI Director Kash Patel wrote on X. The bureau did not say how many agents were assigned or what part of the inquiry they would take on.

A large police presence would remain at the school for several days as investigators worked to establish what happened, Krantz said.

A motive remains under investigation. "There are not really any words I can say to any of you that will make this better," Krantz said, urging residents to "lean on each other and be there for each other."

Police did not say when the victims or the teenager would be publicly identified, and they have not released the name of the man who shot him or said what connection, if any, he has to the school.

What the teachers' unions said

The Bend Education Association, which represents about 1,000 teachers and other certified educators in Bend-La Pine Schools, including at Silver Rail, said it was heartbroken. Its president, Sarah Barclay, a kindergarten teacher, said families trust educators every day with the people they love most. "When violence happens in one of our schools, it reaches far beyond that building," Barclay said.

Barclay said the response at the reunification site had drawn in school administrators and district office staff alongside police from across the area. The association asked the public and the media to respect the privacy of students, families and staff, and to rely on official district and law enforcement communications for verified information.

Enrique Farrera, president of the Oregon Education Association, said schools "should be the safest places in every community." He said the union was there to support every student, educator and school employee affected by the shooting.

"The people affected will need care and support well beyond today," Barclay said. Bend-La Pine Schools said counseling would be available to anyone in the community at Central Library in Bend on Friday.