ONE adult and three children were reported killed in a shooting at an elementary school in Oregon, US on Thursday, as police said the suspect had also died.
The reported death toll, according to law enforcement sources, had not been independently confirmed by authorities. It was also unclear whether the suspect was included in the reported fatalities.
CNN and CBS News cited on Friday that police in Bend, a city of about 100,000 people in central Oregon, said they received the first emergency call at about 1pm local time after an unidentified man reportedly fired a gun into a car at Silver Rail Elementary School.
Moments later, dispatchers received several calls reporting that a person had entered the school and begun shooting, police said in a statement.
Officers arrived within seconds and found the suspect dead from gunshot wounds. Police said the suspect may have been shot by a bystander, although investigators had yet to establish who fired the fatal shots.
Sheila Miller, a spokesperson for the Bend Police Department, said at least two victims had been taken to hospital, but she could not confirm their condition.
A subsequent police statement confirmed multiple victims, including children, and said at least two had been transported to hospital.
CNN and CBS News later reported that the suspect was 16 years old.
Silver Rail Elementary School serves kindergarten through fifth grade, catering to children roughly aged five to 11. The school has about 450 pupils and 40 staff members, Miller said.
US Representative Maxine Dexter, a physician who represents part of Portland, described the shooting as a “devastating day for Oregon”.
“Schools should be places of learning, friendship and joy. It is incumbent on me, and every lawmaker, to do everything we can to ensure our kids are safe,” she said in a statement.
Oregon Governor Tina Kotek called for solidarity as the community grappled with the shooting.
“As we learn more about the tragic event at Silver Rail Elementary in Bend today, we must come together and support each other, neighbour to neighbour, Oregonian to Oregonian. No community should have to live through this day,” she said in a statement posted on X.
FBI Director Kash Patel said federal agents were at the scene assisting local authorities with the investigation.
He said the FBI would make every resource needed available to its local partners. - October 16, 2026