Three children and a teacher were killed when a 16-year-old boy opened fire inside an elementary school in the northwestern state of Oregon, according to what police announced, adding that the perpetrator of the attack was also killed by bullets from a bystander.
Another child and a teacher are receiving treatment for serious injuries as a result of the shooting that occurred at Silver Rail Elementary School in the city of Bend, which has a population of about 100,000 people.
Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz told reporters that the first person to file a report reported that he was shot several times by someone carrying a long weapon.
He added that dozens of emergency calls were received after that to report that an armed man had entered the school, prompting the authorities to summon all members of the security services in the area to the site.
Krantz explained that police officers arrived at the school at 13:02 local time (20:02 GMT), minutes after receiving the reports.
He continued: “Moments later, one of the officers reported that the suspect was shot by one of the individuals who saw him entering the school, so he followed him into the building and clashed with him,” adding: “We entered the building and confirmed the death of the suspect.”
The police chief said that the three children who died at the scene were five, eight and 11 years old, while a female teacher was declared killed in the accident.
According to Krantz, a seven-year-old child and a 54-year-old teacher were seriously injured and taken to the hospital for treatment, indicating that the shooter was a resident of the city of Bend.
He stressed that the investigation is still in its early stages, but said that preliminary data indicate that “the shooter made his way into the school by shooting at the closed doors.”
“Unimaginable tragedy”
A police spokesman reported that between 400 and 450 children are studying at Silver Rail Primary School, where more than 40 employees work.
After imposing the precautionary closure, the local authorities announced that security forces began escorting the students by buses to another location to allow them to be reunited with their families.
Superintendent of the Bend School District, Steve Cook, described what happened as an “unimaginable tragedy.”
He told reporters: “Our hearts are broken.” We are shocked. “This is the kind of event we hear about in other places and we pray it never happens here.”
Parents were waiting anxiously at a site near a church, where a father named Drew Sharp told CBS News: “I have faith that he is okay and that he will be okay.”
He added that his son is studying in the fifth grade, which is the highest grade in the school, and that the students were getting off the buses, starting from the youngest to the oldest. He continued: “This is logical, but it means more waiting.”
The school is located about 270 kilometers southeast of Portland, and receives primary school students from kindergarten through fifth grade.
“We cannot accept this.”
The United States, where firearms are easily accessible, experiences frequent incidents of armed violence that kill thousands of people annually, and has the highest gun-related death rate among developed countries.
The shooting incident at Virginia Tech, which killed 32 people in April 2007, is considered the deadliest of its kind in the history of the United States.
Since the beginning of this year, the United States has witnessed more than 360 mass shooting incidents, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which defines this type of incident as a shooting in which four or more people are injured.
Giffords, a gun safety organization, said on the X platform: “Our hearts go out to the terrified children and families who are anxiously waiting to be assured of the safety of their loved ones.” She added: “We cannot continue to treat this as a normal matter.”
The shooting sparked renewed calls for tighter gun control, demands that are repeated after each similar incident without leading to fundamental changes.
Despite decades of mass shootings, the gun lobby in the United States has continued to support politicians, most of them conservative, with millions of dollars to preserve gun laws as they currently stand.
“They are killing our children,” Oregon Rep. Janelle Bainum said in a statement. They tear apart the bodies of our children with bullets. They force us to live in fear.”
She added to CNN: “This happens constantly, and it seems as if adults don’t care.”
