Oregon School Shooting: 3 Children, Teacher Killed, 16-Year-Old Gunman Shot by Witness

A deadly shooting at an elementary school in the US state of Oregon claimed the lives of three children and a teacher on Thursday, after a 16-year-old gunman forced his way through locked doors and opened fire. A civilian who followed the attacker into the school shot him, preventing further loss of life, authorities said.

The suspect was found dead inside Silver Rail Elementary School minutes after police received the first emergency call, Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz said. The three children killed were aged 5, 8 and 11.

A seven-year-old child and a 54-year-old teacher were also injured and taken to hospital in critical condition, authorities said.

The first 911 call came shortly before 1 pm from a person in a vehicle outside the school who reported being shot at by someone carrying a long gun. Additional emergency calls soon followed from inside the school. Police officers reached the scene within minutes, police spokesperson Sheila Miller said.

Investigators identified the attacker as a Bend resident but had not established whether he knew anyone at the school or had previously attended it. A law enforcement official briefed on the investigation said the teenager used a pump-action shotgun purchased by his mother.

Oregon Governor Tina Kotek expressed grief over the killings and thanked the civilian who confronted the attacker.

“My heart is absolutely broken,” Kotek said, acknowledging the emotional burden carried by the person who intervened to stop further bloodshed.

In the aftermath, children were transported by bus to a nearby church designated as a reunification centre, where anxious parents waited to bring them home. Families embraced their children, some carrying stuffed toys and other familiar belongings to comfort them after the traumatic ordeal.

The school, which serves kindergarten through fifth-grade pupils, had 459 enrolled students as of last year. Classes, sports and extracurricular activities were cancelled on Friday across all 32 schools in the Bend-La Pine district.

The attack was the 28th mass killing recorded in the United States this year, according to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University.

The shooting has once again raised urgent concerns over school safety and the threat of gun violence in the United States, where even elementary-school children remain vulnerable to deadly attacks.