A community in central Oregon is mourning three children and a teacher killed after a 16-year-old gunman forced his way into an elementary school Thursday afternoon, before an armed community member followed him inside and ended the attack.
The shooting occurred at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend on October 15, 2026. Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz said the first 911 call came at about 12:59 p.m., when someone reported that a person with a long gun had fired toward a vehicle outside the school. Within minutes, additional callers reported an active shooter inside the building.
Police say the teenager shot through locked doors to gain access to the school. The building went into lockdown at approximately 1:01 p.m., and the first officers arrived at 1:02. By then, a community member who had seen the attacker enter the building had followed him inside, confronted him and fatally shot him.
Officers found three children — ages 5, 8 and 11 — and a teacher dead. A 7-year-old student and a second teacher were transported to St. Charles Bend with critical injuries. The victims’ names had not been publicly released in the latest official reporting reviewed by The Informant.
Authorities initially described the attacker’s weapon only as a long gun. Associated Press later reported that it was a pump-action shotgun that had been legally purchased by his mother. Investigators are examining how the teenager obtained the firearm, but officials have not announced allegations against the weapon’s owner.
Police have not established a motive or publicly confirmed whether the 16-year-old had any connection to Silver Rail Elementary. AP has reported the identity of the community member who intervened through relatives, but Bend police had not publicly named that person in their official briefing. Gov. Tina Kotek praised the intervention, saying it prevented further loss of life.
The attack unfolded extraordinarily quickly. From the first emergency call at 12:59 p.m. to officers arriving and learning the gunman had been shot, only a few minutes had passed. Police then cleared classrooms, provided emergency aid and helped move students to a reunification center at Journey Church.
Hundreds of people gathered Thursday night for a candlelight vigil at Bend’s Drake Park. Bend-La Pine Schools canceled classes, athletics and other district activities Friday, affecting roughly 16,000 students. Gov. Kotek also ordered flags at Oregon public institutions lowered to half-staff in memory of those killed.
CNN counts the attack as the 36th shooting on K-12 school grounds in the United States in 2026, using its own school-shooting methodology. The investigation now centers on the teenager’s motive, how he obtained the shotgun and whether he had any prior relationship with the school or its victims.
