A 16-year-old Bend resident also died after a community member intervened, while a child and another teacher were critically injured.
BEND, OR — Three children and a teacher were killed Thursday in a shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, and two other people were critically injured before a community member confronted the 16-year-old suspected shooter, authorities said.
The children who died were ages 5, 8 and 11, Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz said. A 7-year-old child and a 54-year-old teacher were taken to St. Charles Bend with critical injuries. Authorities had not publicly identified the victims or the teenage suspect early Friday. Police said the suspect was a Bend resident, but investigators had not established a motive or said whether he had a connection to the elementary school.
The first emergency call came at about 12:59 p.m. Thursday from a person in a vehicle outside the school who reported being shot at by someone carrying a long gun, police said. Within the next minute, Deschutes County dispatchers received multiple calls reporting that a person had entered the school and begun shooting. Krantz said the teenager got into the building by shooting at locked doors.
Police issued an alert calling law enforcement agencies to the school, and Bend officers arrived at about 1:02 p.m. Authorities said that within seconds officers learned the suspect had been shot. Krantz said a community member who had seen the suspect enter the school followed him inside and confronted him. The teenager was found dead inside the building. Police did not immediately release the identity of the person who intervened.
Officers then moved through the school as emergency crews treated victims and students and staff were evacuated. Children were taken by school buses to Journey Church, which was established as a reunification center for families. Law enforcement officers spent hours clearing classrooms and securing the campus while families waited for information.
Silver Rail Elementary serves students from kindergarten through fifth grade. State enrollment figures cited by The Associated Press show the school had 459 students during the previous school year. The shooting brought a large response from Bend police, the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, Oregon State Police and other agencies. Federal authorities also assisted with the investigation.
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek joined local officials at a Thursday evening news conference and said the state was mourning the victims. She also thanked the community member who confronted the suspected shooter, saying the person’s actions carried a heavy emotional burden. Bend-La Pine Schools Superintendent Steven Cook said the district’s immediate focus was supporting students, staff and families while cooperating with investigators.
Classes, athletic events and other activities were canceled Friday across all 32 schools in the Bend-La Pine district. Hundreds of people gathered Thursday evening at a vigil in Bend’s Drake Park, while flowers, candles and other memorial items began appearing near Silver Rail Elementary.
Investigators had not announced a motive by early Friday and said they did not yet know whether the 16-year-old knew anyone at the school or had previously attended it. The Associated Press, citing a law enforcement official briefed on the investigation, reported that the attacker used a pump-action shotgun that had been purchased by his mother. Police had not publicly released a detailed account of how the weapon was obtained or brought to the school.
The conditions of the injured child and teacher remained critical in the latest reports available early Friday. Authorities continued investigating the attack, and a law enforcement presence was expected to remain around the school as officials worked to determine what led to the shooting.
Author note: Last updated October 16, 2026.