Four people, including three children, were targeted by an active shooter on Thursday at an elementary school in Bend, Oregon.
The victims included a 5-year-old, an 8-year-old, an 11-year-old, and a teacher, Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz said. The 16-year-old gunman was killed after a member of the community followed him inside the school and shot him. Two people, a 7-year-old and a 54-year-old teacher, were hospitalized with critical injuries.
The gunman, a Bend resident, forced his way into the school by shooting at locked doors, police said.
Police arrived at the scene at 1:02 p.m. local time after receiving multiple calls about an active shooter on school property. There was a call at 12:59 p.m. about someone shooting into a car near the school with a long gun.
Gov. Tina Kotek (D-OR) expressed gratitude for the first responders and called for unity.
“My heart is absolutely broken today, and our hearts will stay broken in the days and weeks ahead. … We are going to do a lot of crying, and we are going to cry together, and we’re probably going to cry privately. We must come together and support each other, neighbor to neighbor, Oregonian to Oregonian,” the governor said.
Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) posted on X in response to the Bend Police Department’s announcement of the incident that he and his team are monitoring the situation.
FBI Director Kash Patel followed an hour later, assuring the Portland-based FBI field office is also following closely. “We will make every resource they need available,” Patel posted on X.
“We are stunned and heartbroken by this senseless tragedy,” Bend-La Pine Schools Superintendent Steven Cook said in a press release published by the Bend Police Department. “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.”
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Bend is located in central Oregon.
The Washington Examiner contacted the Bend Police Department for comment on the shooting.