A 16-year-old boy killed three children and a teacher in a shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, on Thursday before a community member shot him dead, police said.
The victims were aged five, eight and 11. A seven-year-old child and a 54-year-old teacher were also taken to hospital in critical condition, Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz said.
Police said the suspect, whose identity has not been released, forced his way into the school by shooting at locked doors. Authorities have not established whether he had any connection to the school.
Police received the first report of an active shooter at 12:59 p.m. local time after a caller reported that a person was firing a long gun at their vehicle.
The suspect later entered the school, where a community member pursued and confronted him, shooting him dead, Krantz said.
Officers arrived about three minutes after the incident was reported. They confirmed the suspect had died before searching the school.
The shooting left the local community grieving, with school district administrator Steven Cook describing the incident as a senseless tragedy.
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“No words can adequately express the grief our community is experiencing,” Cook said.
Authorities have not released the identities of the victims or further details about the suspect.
Local media reports said the school received new classroom doors in 2022 that could be locked by flipping a switch. Police said the attacker shot at door locks to gain entry.
Schools in Bend were closed on Friday to give the community time to grieve and recover from the incident.
Silver Rail Elementary School has about 450 pupils and more than 40 adult staff members, police said.
The shooting adds to the wider problem of gun violence in American schools. The K-12 School Shooting Database recorded 235 shooting incidents at US schools in 2025 and at least 140 incidents so far in 2026.
BBC News
