Bend school locked down one minute before officers arrived, police say
Three children, a teacher, and a 16-year-old suspected shooter were among five people found dead after a shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, authorities said.
Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz told reporters during a press conference that the deceased victims were children ages 5, 8, and 11, and a teacher. A 7-year-old student and a 54-year-old teacher were injured in the shooting and transported to St. Charles Bend Medical Center with critical injuries, he said.
“This is a terrible tragedy and we are working hard to investigate this incident and get as much information as possible out to the public,” Krantz said.
Police identified the suspected shooter as a 16-year-old resident of Bend, a city of nearly 100,000 people in central Oregon located about 130 miles east of Eugene. Krantz said the shooting occurred at about 1 p.m. PDT.
Dispatch received its first call in the incident at 12:59 p.m. from a person in a vehicle who said they had been shot at multiple times by a suspect with a long gun. Dozens of calls followed reporting that a shooter had entered the school. The school was directed to enter lockdown at 1:01 p.m., and the first responding officers arrived at the scene a minute later.
Moments after police arrived, an officer reported that the suspect had been shot by a community member who had witnessed the suspect enter the school and pursued the gunman, Krantz said. Officers then entered the building, confirmed the suspect was dead, evacuated the facility, and rendered emergency aid to those injured, he said.
Including the shooter, five people were found dead at the scene, Krantz said, adding that the families of the victims have been notified.
The investigation was ongoing, Krantz said, and the department was working to get information to the public as it became available.