A 16-year-old gunman has killed four people, including three children and a teacher, in a shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, in the United States.
The suspect was also killed after an armed community member pursued him into the school and intervened to prevent further casualties, police said.
Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz disclosed the incident at a press conference on Thursday, October 15, 2026, saying the victims were children aged five, eight, and 11, alongside a teacher.
He added that a seven-year-old pupil and a 54-year-old teacher sustained critical injuries and were taken to the hospital for treatment.
According to Krantz, the teenage suspect gained entry into the school by firing through its locked doors.
Police received an emergency call at about 12:59 p.m. local time from a motorist who reported being shot at several times by an individual carrying a long gun.
Within minutes, authorities received multiple calls reporting that the gunman had entered the school, prompting law enforcement officers to order an immediate lockdown.
Officers arrived at the scene at approximately 1:02 p.m., and one subsequently reported that the suspect had been shot. Police later entered the premises and confirmed his death.
Krantz said the armed community member had witnessed the suspect entering the school before pursuing him inside. The individual’s identity was not disclosed.
Oregon Governor Tina Kotek commended the individual for intervening, describing the action as heroic and crediting it with helping to prevent further loss of life.
“No parent should have to have this kind of day, and no community should have to live through this kind of day,” Kotek said, expressing sympathy for the victims, their families, and the wider community.
She added that residents would have to grieve together as more information emerged about those killed and injured.
The police chief said all Bend police officers underwent a full day of active-shooter training in August, noting that officers regularly prepare for such incidents.
“Unfortunately, this is something we train for regularly, and we must,” he said, adding that the investigation would be lengthy.
Silver Rail Elementary School serves pupils from kindergarten through fifth grade, typically between the ages of five and 11. The institution has approximately 450 pupils and 40 staff members.
The shooting occurred in Bend, a city of about 100,000 residents in central Oregon, approximately 175 miles southeast of Portland.
The incident has renewed concerns over school shootings in the United States, where deadly attacks have repeatedly triggered debates about gun control and the constitutional right to bear arms.
Previous high-profile attacks include the 1999 Columbine High School shooting, the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, and the 2022 Robb Elementary School attack in Uvalde, Texas.
Gabrielle Giffords, a former US congresswoman who survived a shooting in 2011 and has since campaigned for stricter gun laws, expressed heartbreak over the latest attack.
“This cannot continue to be a reality in our country. Leaders at every level must step up and act,” she said.
Authorities said investigations into Thursday’s shooting were continuing.
