A bystander shot and killed a 16-year-old who opened fire at a Bend elementary school Thursday, shortly after the teen fatally wounded three children and a teacher, police said.

Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz said the deceased children at Silver Rail Elementary School were ages 5, 8 and 11. He didn’t specify the age of the deceased teacher. Additionally, a 7-year-old child and a 54-year-old teacher were critically injured, the chief said.

The tragedy marked Oregon’s first and only deadly mass shooting at an elementary school, according to the K-12 School Shooting Database.

Krantz said the bystander observed the teen blasting his way into the school carrying a long gun. The bystander “pursued him into the school and engaged him,” killing the teen just before police entered.

Police haven’t identified the shooter or the bystander, who was a parent of a student or students at the school.

Silver Rail Elementary parents who later reunited safely with their children described a horror-filled day that is exacting a hefty psychological toll. One family at the tight-knit school in central Oregon noted that their children were sent into a panic as the sounds of shots reverberated across their classrooms.

At a sometimes breathless evening news conference attended by local and state officials, Gov. Tina Kotek said her heart “is absolutely broken” and praised the “quick thinking and courage” of the school’s community.

“And to the community member who heroically intervened to stop further loss of life: Your actions carry a heavy emotional burden, and I just want you to know that my thoughts are with you as well,” Kotek said.

Police have yet to share the identities of those killed or wounded at the school, which reportedly has about 450 students and 40 staff. Bend police spokesperson Sheila Miller said victims were rushed to St. Charles Medical Center for treatment.

Tragedy unfolds in 3 minutes Police said emergency responders were alerted to the shooting by a 12:59 p.m. call to 911 reporting that a person outside the school had fired a shot into a car.

At 1 p.m., Deschutes County dispatchers received multiple 911 calls reporting that a person had entered the school and begun shooting. Dispatchers sent out an emergency alert tone summoning all available law enforcement. At 1:02 p.m., Bend police officers arrived at the school. Soon after, officers confirmed the suspect was dead.

Police have not yet said what, if any, connection the shooter may have had to the school, which is southeast of downtown Bend.

“This is the kind of thing we never want to see happen in Bend. It’s devastating,” said Miller, the police spokesperson, as she choked up during a 2:15 p.m. press conference. “Our hearts go out to this community, and we ask our community to really work together and come together at this time.”There was a large police presence near the school, and officials asked the public to avoid the area. Miller said “law enforcement from every agency in central Oregon” had responded.

She said officers were evacuating the school room by room and sending people by bus to a reunification center at Journey Church.

Suspect shot his way into school Police said the 16-year-old was able to enter Silver Rail Elementary by shooting at the locked doors.

In doing so, he apparently was able to bypass what Bend-LaPine Schools says are “secure vestibules” in each of its buildings through which visitors must enter. Once there, any visitor is supposed to check in with the office staff, and through an electronic system that verifies they have passed a background check before being electronically buzzed into the building.

The school district says it has security cameras installed both inside and outside of all buildings, and the district partners with the Bend and La Pine police departments to bring armed school resource officers into its schools.

“We are stunned and heartbroken by this senseless tragedy,” Bend-La Pine Schools Superintendent Steven Cook said in a statement. “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.”The state has had a handful of catastrophic school shootings in the past three decades. In 1998, a 15-year-old opened fire at Thurston High School in Springfield killing two of his classmates and wounding 25 others before he was subdued by fellow students.

In 2014, a 15-year-old shot and killed one student and wounded a physical education teacher before killing himself at Reynolds High School in Troutdale, on the second-to-last day of the school year. And in 2015, a 26-year-old killed nine people at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg.

Nationwide, deadly mass school shootings at elementary schools are extraordinarily uncommon. Among them: In 2012, a mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., left 20 first-graders and six staff members dead.

In 2022, 19 children and two teachers died at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. That same year, as part of a 2022 bond approved by voters, Silver Rail received new door-locking hardware for each of its classrooms, making it possible to lock doors by flipping a single switch.

Bend-La Pine is also one of many school districts around Oregon that have adopted a policy that prohibits weapons inside school buildings, even for those who have permits to carry a concealed weapon or firearm.

Bend school shooting Heartbreak Sarah Barclay, the president of the Bend-La Pine Education Association, wept during a call with The Oregonian/OregonLive.

She said she did not yet know which Silver Rail staff member had been killed and which had been injured in the incident. “The school deserves to be safe. Kids deserve to learn. This should not happen,” Barclay said through tears.

She said teachers and staff at the school had acted with extreme bravery to protect their students, and that district leaders had rushed immediately to the site where children were being reunited with their families in order to help.

“It just speaks to everyone coming together in hard times and doing what they need to do to protect our babies,” Barclay said.

Kindergarteners were among the first to be reunited with families following the shooting, with the final children picked up from the church around 5:45 p.m.

Kyle Schneider, the elementary coordinator for the church, said he helped keep children fed and occupied while the school district implemented a careful reunification protocol.

Parents said they had to fill out forms and show ID. The children were called out by grade. “They were going pretty stir crazy in there,” Schneider said.

“I saw that the teachers were going through it, so I was just trying to help.”“It’s pretty heavy in there for sure,” he added. Thousands gathered Thursday night for a vigil at Drake Park in Bend.

Attendees carried candles and handfuls of flowers. They clutched boxes of tissues and stuffed toys as the sun set over the park. The Bend-La Pine School District announced that all classes, activities and athletics events would be canceled Friday.

Kotek, the governor, said as Oregonians learn more about those killed and injured, there will be many tears.

“There is going to be time for answering all of those questions that we all have right now and for searching for more ways to prevent this from happening in the future,” Kotek said.

“But for now, let’s hold each other close in grief and put as much love into the world as possible. Latest Public Safety News Thousands gather in Bend to mourn after elementary school shooting: ‘This is a dark day’

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