On Thursday, 15th October, a shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, left three children and a teacher dead after a 16-year-old attacker entered the school by shooting through locked doors. Two other people, including a child and a teacher, were seriously injured and taken to the hospital.
JUST IN: An armed bystander carrying a concealed weapon took down a 16-year-old gunman who killed three children and one adult during an elementary school shooting in Bend, Oregon. ⠀ A source told Fox News the bystander’s intervention prevented additional deaths, stopping an already deadly attack from claiming more lives.
— Fox News (@FoxNews) October 16, 2026
Police found the shooter dead inside the school just minutes after receiving the first report of the incident. Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz said the attacker was shot by a person at the scene who followed him into the building.
How the shooting took place
The first 911 call came just before 1 pm from a person in a vehicle outside Silver Rail Elementary. The caller reported being shot at by someone carrying a long gun. More emergency calls soon came from inside the school.
Police officers reached the scene within minutes, according to police spokesperson Sheila Miller. The attacker, a resident of Bend, was shot and fell inside the school shortly after officers arrived.
The three children killed in the shooting were aged 5, 8 and 11. Another child, aged 7, and a 54-year-old teacher were injured and taken to the hospital in critical condition.
Authorities said they did not know whether the shooter knew anyone at the school or had studied there.
The shooter used a shotgun bought by his mother
According to a law enforcement official briefed on the investigation, the attacker used a pump-action shotgun purchased by his mother. The official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to share details publicly.
Oregon Governor Tina Kotek expressed grief over the deaths and thanked the person who followed the attacker and helped stop further loss of life.
She said her heart was “absolutely broken” and acknowledged the emotional burden faced by the person who intervened.
Families reunited after the attack
Following the shooting, children were taken by bus to a nearby church that served as a reunification centre for families. Parents hugged their children, held their hands and walked with them to their cars. Some children carried their favourite stuffed toys and other comforting items from home.
Silver Rail Elementary serves students from kindergarten through fifth grade and had 459 enrolled students as of last year, according to the Oregon Department of Education.
Bend, located about 125 miles (200 kilometres) southeast of Portland, is a growing high-desert city known for tourism and outdoor activities near Mount Bachelor.
Classes, sports and other activities were cancelled on Friday at all 32 schools in the Bend-La Pine district.
According to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University, the shooting was the 28th mass killing in the United States this year.
