Bend police investigate school shooting that killed three children and a teacher
Investigators are examining the motive and weapon access of a 16-year-old who killed four people at an Oregon elementary school before an armed bystander killed him.
Bend, United States. Police were investigating Friday what motivated a 16-year-old boy to kill three children and a teacher at Silver Rail Elementary School in central Oregon and how he obtained the long gun used. An armed bystander pursued the teenager inside and fatally shot him, Police Chief Mike Krantz said.
Four victims killed, two critically injured
The attack happened Thursday afternoon, when the teenager fired through a door that was locked, according to the Bend Police Department. Authorities have not publicly named him.
At a news conference Thursday evening, Krantz said the children killed were five, eight and 11 years old. A student aged seven and a teacher aged 54 were also hospitalised in critical condition.
Whether the attacker had any previous ties to the school remained unclear. Its enrolment is approximately 450 children, spanning kindergarten to fifth grade and generally ages five to 11, with 40 staff members.
Questions over weapon and bystander
CBS News reported, citing unidentified law enforcement officials, that the weapon was a shotgun purchased by the teenager’s mother. Bend Police Department officials did not immediately answer questions Friday.
Police have not publicly named the armed bystander. In recordings of 911 calls made public by authorities, a dispatcher suggested he might be the father of a pupil attending the school.
Speaking at the news conference, Oregon Governor Tina Kotek said the bystander “heroically intervened to stop further loss of life.”
Recurring debate over firearms
Deadly shootings at schools have become a recurring occurrence in the United States, repeatedly renewing arguments over firearms legislation. The Constitution’s Second Amendment protects the right to “keep and bear Arms”.
Among the country’s deadliest school attacks were those at Columbine High School in 1999, Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018 and Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, in 2022.
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