Multiple people, including children, killed in Oregon elementary school shooting
Deaths reported in Bend
The shooting took place at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon. Police said Thursday that there were multiple victims and that the suspected shooter was dead. US networks, citing unnamed law enforcement sources, reported that four people died, including three children. At least two people were transported to a hospital, with no information released about their condition.
Bend Police Department spokesperson Sheila Miller said authorities had not established who shot the suspect. She said it may have been a bystander.
Police response and reunification
Miller said officers received an alert about a critical incident at 1 p.m. local time and reached the scene about two minutes later. She said officers heard over the radio moments later that the suspect was down.
School and community
Bend is a city of about 100,000 people in central Oregon, roughly 175 miles (280 kilometers) southeast of Portland. The shooting adds to a wider pattern of gun violence in the United States, where firearms are widely available and thousands of people are killed each year. The country has the highest rate of gun-related deaths among high-income countries.
Key points
- US networks reported four deaths, including three children, at Silver Rail Elementary in Bend.
- Police said the suspected shooter was dead but had not confirmed who shot the suspect.
- At least two people were taken to a hospital; their conditions were not known.
- Students were being escorted to another location to reunite with their families.