At least four people, including three children and a teacher, were killed in a shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, in the northwestern United States, according to local law enforcement.
The shooting occurred on Thursday in Bend, about 160 kilometres (100 miles) southeast of Portland. The three children killed were aged 5, 8 and 11, Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz said.
A teacher was also among the fatalities, reports Al Jazeera.
A seven-year-old child and a 54-year-old teacher sustained critical injuries and were taken to St Charles Medical Center in Bend, authorities said.
At an afternoon news conference, Krantz identified the alleged shooter as a 16-year-old resident of Bend who was subsequently killed. Authorities have not released the suspect’s name.
Preliminary findings indicate that the suspect forced entry into the school by firing at locked doors, Krantz said. Investigators were still working to establish whether the teenager had previously attended the school.
Emergency services began receiving calls at around 12:59pm local time (19:59 GMT), followed by dozens of additional calls within minutes.
According to Krantz, the first report came from a person in a vehicle who said they had been fired at repeatedly by someone carrying a long gun. The school was placed under lockdown at 1:01pm (20:01 GMT), and police officers arrived shortly afterwards.
Krantz said an officer subsequently reported that a community member had confronted the suspect after witnessing the individual enter the school and pursuing them inside.
Police officers then entered the building, confirmed that the suspect was dead, searched the premises for further threats and provided emergency assistance to the victims, he said.
The police investigation remains ongoing, and authorities said further details would be made public in the coming days.
Police have notified the victims’ families. Officers evacuated every room in the school, and students and staff were transported by bus to a nearby church, where they could reunite with their families and loved ones.
Sheila Miller, communications manager for the Bend Police Department, described the incident as devastating.
“This is the kind of thing we never want to see happen in Bend. It’s devastating,” Miller said on Thursday.
Kash Patel, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), said on social media that the agency was assisting local law enforcement with the investigation.
“We will make every resource they need available,” Patel wrote.
Oregon Governor Tina Kotek urged residents to support one another as the community grappled with the loss.
“All Oregonians mourn this loss today. This is a horrible day. No parent should have to have this kind of day, and no community should have to live through this kind of day,” Kotek said.
Kotek also acknowledged the community member who intervened against the suspect, saying the individual could face a significant emotional burden following the incident. She offered her thoughts and support to the bystander.
US Senator Jeff Merkley, who represents Oregon, also expressed condolences to those affected by the shooting.
“My heart is with the Bend community and all of the students and families affected. No one should have to fear violence at school,” Merkley wrote on X.
The shooting comes amid continued gun violence across the United States. The Gun Violence Archive, which tracks such incidents nationwide, has recorded 369 mass shootings so far in 2026.
The organisation defines a mass shooting as an incident in which at least four people are injured or killed, excluding the suspect.
Meanwhile, Everytown for Gun Safety, a gun violence prevention organisation, estimates that approximately 100 incidents involving gunfire on school campuses have occurred in the United States this year. Twenty-seven people have died in those incidents, according to the group.
