At least three children and one adult were killed in a shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, The suspected shooter was also killed, CBS News reported, citing multiple law enforcement sources.
Bend Police communications manager Sheila Miller said at a news conference that at least two people had been taken to St Charles Medical Centre. “The victims include children”, she said. It was not immediately clear whether those taken to hospital were among those killed.
Miller said authorities had yet to establish the total number of victims.
Police responded within three minutes
According to CBS News, police received a call shortly before 1 pm local time about a man shooting into a car. About a minute later, multiple emergency calls to 911 reported that the individual had entered the school and begun firing, police said in a statement.
Officers reached the scene within three minutes and quickly reported that the shooter was dead.
Miller said investigators had not established who had shot and killed the suspect. She said it “may have been a bystander”.
Law enforcement sources told CBS News that the shooter was believed to be a teenager and had been killed by a Good Samaritan. Authorities had not released further details about the suspect.
FBI, ATF assist local authorities
FBI Director Kash Patel said the agency’s Portland office was assisting local law enforcement with the investigation.
In a post on X, Patel said, “@FBIPortland is on the scene and assisting our local partners in the investigation regarding an earlier shooting at a local school. We will make every resource they need available.”
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was also at the scene, assisting local authorities, including the Oregon State Police, a law enforcement source told CBS News.
Police were evacuating classrooms individually at Silver Rail Elementary following the shooting.
Bend Police said a significant law enforcement presence would remain at the school and at a church being used as a reunification centre for families “for the foreseeable future”.
Bend is in Central Oregon, approximately 150 miles south-east of Portland.
School superintendent expresses grief
Bend-La Pine Schools Superintendent Steven Cook expressed grief over the incident, describing the community as stunned by the loss.
“We are stunned and heartbroken by this senseless tragedy. We extend our deepest sympathy to the families and to everyone affected by this violence. No words can adequately express the grief our community is experiencing. Our immediate priorities are caring for our students and staff and assisting law enforcement and emergency responders”, Cook said.
(with ANI inputs)
