“We are stunned and heartbroken by this senseless tragedy,” Steven Cook, the local school district’s top administrative official, said in a statement. “There are no words that can adequately express the pain our community is experiencing.” Emergency services responded to reports of an active shooter at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, at 12:59 local time (04:59 BST), Bend Police Department spokesperson Sheila Miller told reporters. The first call came from a person who said an unknown suspect was shooting at their car with a long gun, police say. Photos released from the scene show a red pickup truck with bullet holes. Minutes later, local county dispatch received multiple 911 calls reporting that the attacker had entered the school. Police say he shot the door locks to force entry. A bystander saw the shooting begin, chased the attacker into the school and shot him to death, police said. Three minutes later, officers arrived at the scene. They confirmed that the attacker had been killed and then searched the school. The victims included three children, ages 5, 8 and 11, and a teacher, Krantz said. A seven-year-old boy and a 54-year-old teacher were taken to a local hospital with “critical injuries,” he added. Although police said the shooter was a 16-year-old local boy, they declined to add further details pending the ongoing investigation. Police have not released the identities of any victim, the attacker or the bystander who shot him. Schools across the city of Bend were closed Friday, and officials said the community needs time to recover. About 450 children attend Silver Rail Elementary School, which has more than 40 adult staff members, police say. Local media reports suggest the school received new doors in 2022 that can close classrooms with the flip of a switch. According to the K-12 School Shooting Database, there were 235 shooting incidents in American schools last year and at least 140 so far this year. including this one.
