Five dead in shooting at elementary school in Oregon

A teenage gunman killed three children and a teacher at an elementary school in the US state of Oregon. The 16-year-old suspected attacker was chased and shot by an eyewitness, police said at a press conference.

The children killed were therefore five, eight and eleven years old. A seven-year-old child and a 54-year-old teacher at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend were taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, local police Chief Mike Krantz said.

Attacker shot by passerby

The perpetrator came from the city, said Krantz - he did not want to give further details. A passerby saw the attacker enter the school, chased him and finally shot him. When the emergency services entered the building a few minutes after the first emergency call, the perpetrator was already dead.

The perpetrator is said to have used an unspecified long gun in the incident and, according to initial findings, acted alone. Krantz said he shot at doors and thereby forced his way into the school. It is unclear whether the perpetrator himself was a student there and knew his victims.

In the first emergency call to the police, a driver reported that a gunman had shot at his vehicle. Immediately afterwards, dozens of other callers reported that the perpetrator had entered the school and opened fire. A large contingent of emergency services was then deployed.

According to police, between 400 and 450 students attend Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend. The city is located in the middle of the west coast state of Oregon and has a population of over 100,000.

Gun violence is a sad everyday occurrence in the USA

In the USA, gun violence is almost part of everyday life, with the number of victims reaching tens of thousands every year. Larger caliber pistols and weapons are easily accessible and there are millions of them in circulation.

Particularly serious attacks often spark debates about tightening gun laws - but these generally have no consequences. Ultimately, attempts at reform usually fail due to resistance from the powerful gun lobby and its sympathetic Republicans.

According to an analysis by US broadcaster CNN, there have been at least 52 school shooting incidents in the United States this year, in which at least 28 people were killed and 48 others were injured.