A 16-year-old gunman killed four people at an Oregon elementary school.
Three children and one teacher died; two others suffered critical injuries.
An armed community member killed the shooter before police arrived.
A 16-year-old opened fire at a primary school in Bend, Oregon on Thursday, killing four people, including three children, before he was killed by an armed member of the community.
Police said the shooter entered Silver Rail Elementary School by firing through locked doors but did not share further details about the suspect beyond his age.
Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz told at a press conference that the victims were three children aged 5, 8 and 11, along with a teacher. A 7-year-old student and a 54-year-old teacher were also taken to hospital with critical injuries, Reuters reported.
Governor of Oregon, Tina Kotek, expressed his gratitude towards the community member who "heroically intervened to stop further loss of life."
Kotek said, "No parent should have to have this kind of day, and no community should have to live through this kind of day. And as we learn more about the children and the adults who have been killed or injured, and their families and their loved ones, we are going to do a lot of crying, and we are going to cry together, and we're probably going to cry privately."
Response From the Police
The attacker was killed by a community member who chased him into the school and confronted him, Krantz said. Police arrived three minutes after the incident, according to the BBC.
Police department spokeswoman Sheila Miller told reporters that at 12:59 local time (19:59 GMT), police received a report of an active shooter at Silver Rail Elementary School.
The first call came from someone who reported that an unknown suspect was firing at their car with a long gun, police said. Photos released from the scene showed a red truck with bullet holes.
A few minutes later, the local county dispatch received 911 calls reporting that the attacker had entered the school. Police said he had shot at the door locks to force his way inside.
History of School Shootings In The US
School shootings have repeatedly shaken the US over the years, with major attacks reported 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.
On April 16, 2007, South Korean student Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people and injured 17 others at Virginia Tech before killing himself, in the deadliest school shooting in US history.
