Oregon Mass Shooting: Teen Gunman Kills Three Students and One Teacher Inside School Before Being Gunned Down by Hero Bystander
A 16-year-old gunman killed three children and a teacher in a shooting at an elementary school in Oregon on Thursday afternoon before a hero bystander shot and killed him after chasing him inside the school, police said.
The unidentified teenager opened fire on the locked doors of Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend before killing three students, aged five, eight and 11, along with a teacher whose age has not been released. A seven-year-old child and a 54-year-old teacher were rushed to a nearby hospital with critical injuries. Authorities have yet to determine a motive for the shooting and didn’t say whether the suspect knew anyone at the school.
Horror Inside School
“Today is an awful day for our community,” Bend Mayor Melanie Kebler said. “Our hearts are broken as we mourn this tragedy and the profound impact it has had on so many people, especially the children, families, educators and school staff whose lives have been forever changed.
“A school should be a safe place where children can learn and feel secure,” Kebler continued, as she called for the community to lean on one another.
“We are here for you. We grieve alongside you and we will get through this together.”
The incident unfolded when a driver in a red Toyota Tacoma pickup truck spotted the teenager approaching the school with a long gun in the parking lot, according to The Source.
The driver confronted the teen, who allegedly responded by firing multiple rounds at him and his vehicle. The gunfire shattered the truck’s rear window and left six large bullet holes in its body.
The teenager then reportedly tossed his weapon over the school fence before climbing over it himself, prompting the driver to contact Deschutes County dispatchers at around 12:59 p.m.
Within a minute, the Bend Police Department issued an alert calling officers to an emergency. However, before they could reach the school, the suspect allegedly shot at the locked entrances to force his way inside. Police Chief Mike Krantz said at a news conference on Thursday night that dispatchers subsequently received “dozens” of 911 calls.
Officers reached the school by 1:02 p.m. Shortly afterward, the unidentified community member fatally shot the gunman.
Following the attack, authorities placed the school under lockdown while officers searched the building room by room and evacuated those inside, Miller said. Silver Rail Elementary School has between 400 and 450 students and more than 40 staff members.
Bigger Danger Avoided
In the aftermath, officers wearing bulletproof vests and carrying assault rifles were seen inspecting vehicles in the school parking lot. Meanwhile, parents, teachers and children gathered in groups, embracing one another and wiping away tears.
Police urged the public to stay away from the area while the investigation continued. However, news of the shooting drew a large crowd of anxious parents to the school, desperate for updates about their children.
Many subsequently made their way to nearby Journey Church, where they hoped to reunite with their loved ones as officials prioritized evacuating the youngest students.
Mindy Corley, whose nephew is a fifth-grader at the school, waited anxiously for him to arrive. Speaking to NBC News, she said the boy was left “very scared” by the shooting.
Corley explained that her nephew had a cellphone and was able to contact his mother to let her know he was safe. However, “he was clearly very, very scared and wanted to go home.”
Steven and Angela Nuchols described how they had dressed their eight-year-old daughter, Charlotte, for picture day earlier that Thursday, only to find themselves rushing to the school a few hours later.
“It was crawling with police officers from all over the country,” Angela said. “You’ve got guys in tactical gear, rifles. You’re just scared to death wondering is your child OK? You don’t know.”
The couple eventually reunited with their daughter, but Angela described the ordeal as “the worst three hours of our lives.”
Federal agents from the FBI’s Portland Bureau and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also arrived to assist with the investigation. FBI Director Kash Patel pledged to “make every resource [local law enforcement needs] available.”
Investigators have since determined that the suspect used a pump-action shotgun purchased by his mother, a law enforcement source told The Associated Press.
