From the HERE City National Desk
BEND, Ore. — Bend Police Department officials said a 16-year-old stormed Silver Rail Elementary School on Thursday, killing three young students and one staff member before a bystander shot him inside.
Chief Mike Krantz told reporters the slain children were 5, 8 and 11 years old. A 7-year-old pupil and a 54-year-old educator were rushed to critical care. No victim names were released Thursday night, and police said they still could not confirm any campus link for the teen.
The first 911 call arrived just before 1 p.m. from someone reporting long-gun fire into a vehicle, then a wave of calls that the attacker was inside. Krantz said the teen blasted locks to get through doors. Officers arrived in roughly three minutes and found that a community member who watched him enter had followed and exchanged fire.
Gov. Tina Kotek thanked that person for stopping further bloodshed and said the burden on the bystander is heavy. Superintendent Steven Cook called the losses unthinkable. District leaders canceled Friday classes and athletics. About 450 students attend Silver Rail.
Multiple law-enforcement briefings described a shotgun; one account said it was a pump-action model obtained by the teen mother. The FBI and ATF helped local officers. Hundreds gathered for a vigil Thursday night.
Section: More Washington DC crime news
