Four people have been killed, including 3 children, in a shooting at Silver Rail Elementary in Bend, according to CNN, the shooter was reportedly 16-years old.
The deceased include an adult teacher and children ages 5, 8, and 11. Two other victims, a 7-year-old child and a 54-year-old teacher, were taken to the hospital in critical condition.
Police provided updates to a reported active shooter situation at Silver Rail Elementary in Bend, which prompted a rapid police response early Thursday afternoon, with officers arriving within minutes and learning the suspected shooter was down.
The suspect has been identified as “a 16-year-old Bend resident,” authorities said.
The initial investigation says that the shooter accessed the school by shooting at locked doors, officials said.
Authorities will continue to have a large police presence at the school for the next several days during the investigation.
Bend police said dispatch received reports at 12:59 p.m. of shots fired into a car. An alert was sent out at 1 p.m., and officers arrived at 1:02 p.m., police said, adding they received word the suspect was down almost immediately after.
Officers at the scene heard the shooter had been shot and killed, police said. Police said they do not know who shot and killed the shooter; possibly a bystander.
Police also reported multiple victims. Bend PD said victims included children. Bend Fire transported at least two people to St. Charles Hospital, police said. Their status is not known.
According to the school district, new locks were installed at Silver Rail as part of a district wide safety project; with up-to-date, easy-to-use classroom door locks for an estimated 3,200 doorways. The updates came from a 2022 Construction Bond to improve safety and modernize aging schools.
In a statement Governor Kotek said:
As we learn more about the tragic event at Silver Rail Elementary in Bend today, we must come together and support each other, neighbor to neighbor, Oregonian to Oregonian. No community should have to live through this day.
In a later statement, the Governor said the following:
I want to start by thanking and praising the quick thinking and courage of the Silver Rail Elementary School staff and parents – and the first responders who rushed to the scene.
And to the community member who heroically intervened to stop further loss of life, your actions carry a heavy emotional burden – and my thoughts are with you.
Almost exactly a year ago, I was at Silver Rail Elementary. I spent time with educators and community members calling parents to thank them for the great progress their kids were making in attending school. I heard the joy and excitement about their school.
My heart is absolutely broken. Our hearts will stay broken in the days and weeks ahead. My daily prayers will be with this community, with the children, with the parents.
All Oregonians mourn the loss of life today. This is a horrible day. No parent should have this day. No community should live through this day.
As we learn more about the children and the adult victims who died or were injured — and their families and their loved ones — we will weep together, and we will weep quietly to ourselves.
We must come together and support each other, neighbor to neighbor, Oregonian to Oregonian.
The Oregon Department of Emergency Management is coordinating across multiple state agencies, and the state stands ready to support the community in whatever it needs.
There will be time for answering all the questions we have and search for more ways to prevent this kind of violence from happening.
But for now, let us hold each other close in our grief, and put as much love into the world as possible.
Classrooms at Bend Elementary School are being evacuated room by room, per BPD, and taken to Journey Church for reunification.
“We are stunned and heartbroken by this senseless tragedy,” Bend-La Pine Schools Superintendent Steven Cook. “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.”
FBI Portland is on scene assisting local law enforcement with the investigation into the shooting. FBI Director Kash Patel said in a post on X that they “will make every resource they need available.”
GIFFORDS, the national gun violence prevention group issued a statement following the shooting:
I am heartbroken to hear of the school shooting in Bend today. Elementary school days should be filled with jungle gyms, math class, and new friends – not ducking under desks or crouching in corners to survive a shooter. My thoughts are with the entire Silver Rail Elementary community and first responders in the wake of this tragedy. This cannot continue to be a reality in our country. Leaders at every level must step up and act,” said former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.
Senator Ron Wyden issued a statement following the Silver Rail Elementary school shooting:
“My heart goes out to the innocent victims of today’s horrific shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School and their loved ones now facing the awful consequences of yet another school shooting in America.”
Wyden continued to say that the best way to honor the victims is to pass common-sense gun laws.
Senator Christine Drazan also offered prayers to those impacted by the shooting, saying ‘this has to end.’
My heart is with the students, families, teachers and staff facing an unimaginable tragedy at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend. I am praying for everyone impacted and for the law enforcement officers and first responders who responded so swiftly to this horrific incident.
We have to commit to protecting our kids. We have to put a complete stop to shootings at our schools.
This has to end.
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield issued the following statement:
The loss of kids to gun violence is an unspeakable tragedy. Our children deserve to be safe in their schools, and families should never have to worry about gun violence shattering their lives. As a parent, the heartbreak of losing a child to violence is unimaginable. Tonight, my heart is with the victims, their families and loved ones, and the entire Bend community. I am grateful to the first responders who took swift action today.
Congresswoman Maxine Dexter also issued a statement:
This is a devastating day for Oregon. My heart is with the Bend community, and every family who is being impacted by this tragic, senseless shooting. Schools should be places of learning, friendship and joy. It is incumbent on me, and every lawmaker, to do everything we can to ensure our kids are safe.
Congresswoman Janelle Bynum (OR-05) released the following statement following the Silver Rail Elementary School shooting in Bend:
They’re killing our babies. Shredding our kids with lead. Forcing us to live in fear,” said Rep. Bynum. “I feel this deep, deep, deep in my soul. Our whole community does. Our whole state does. And the whole nation should. Our babies are supposed to do arts and crafts at school, not use their desks as cover from gunfire. They’re supposed to make friends, not mourn them. This is every parent’s worst fear. My heart and my prayers and everything else I got is with the families at Silver Rail Elementary. When will it end?
Oregon Representative Suzanne Bonamici also offered a statement on the shooting saying, “no parent should have to wonder if their child will come home at the end of the day.”
As a parent and policymaker, my heart is breaking for the students, families, teachers, and staff at Silver Rail Elementary School and the entire Bend community. No parent should have to wonder if their child will come home at the end of the day. The epidemic of gun violence in schools across America must come to an end. Children deserve to feel safe–and be safe–in school.
Representative Val Hoyle echoed Bonamici’s statement saying, “School should be a safe place for children to learn, they should be worried about math and spelling and not whether they are going to be murdered in cold blood.”
As a parent, I can’t imagine what these families are going through. School should be a safe place for children to learn, they should be worried about math and spelling and not whether they are going to be murdered in cold blood. We need to treat gun violence like the epidemic that it is.
Congresswoman Andrea Salinas issued a similar statement, saying schools should be safe places for children to learn.
As a mother, I’m heartbroken by the shooting at Silver Rail Elementary. Our schools should be safe places for children to learn and thrive, not places where students, teachers, and staff fear for their lives.
I’m thinking of the entire Bend community during this unimaginably difficult time.
A prayer vigil is planned at Drake Park Thursday night at 6 p.m. and another at Bend Church at 7 p.m. to honor the victims.
All schools in Bend have cancelled classes Friday due to the shooting.
The Springfield Police Department issued the following statement:
The Springfield Police Department stands in solidarity with the community of Bend, the first responders, and the families affected by this tragedy.
Our hearts are heavy, and we are sending our deepest strength and condolences to everyone enduring this unimaginable pain.
We understand the profound shock and grief that follows a tragedy like this, having walked a similar dark path in our own community back in 1998. We know how deeply a city can be shaken, but we also know the incredible resilience, unity, and courage that emerges when a community comes together.
To the families who are hurting, and to the Bend first responders working tirelessly on the front lines—your bravery and dedication carry your city through its hardest moments. We see you, we honor you, and we stand ready to support you in any way we can.
Bend, you are not alone. Springfield stands with you today, tomorrow, and throughout the road ahead.