One Adult and Three Children Killed at a Bend, Oregon Elementary School

Bend, Oregon, is a city of about 100,000 people in rural central Oregon, a place where an elementary school sits on a residential street in the city's southeast and where a Thursday afternoon turned, within minutes, from a report of a shot fired into a car into something far worse. By the time officers reached Silver Rail Elementary School, the call had changed to multiple 911 reports of a person inside the building, shooting.

One Adult and Three Children Killed at a Bend, Oregon Elementary School

Bend, Oregon — One adult and three children were killed Thursday at Silver Rail Elementary School in southeast Bend, according to CNN, which cited preliminary information from a law enforcement source, though the death toll remained contested and unresolved hours after the shooting stopped.

What Happened at Silver Rail Elementary School

Silver Rail Elementary sits at 61530 SE Stone Creek Lane, a public school serving kindergarten through fifth grade as part of the Bend-La Pine Schools district. The Oregon Department of Education counted 459 students enrolled as of last year, according to the Associated Press, while Bend police spokesperson Sheila Miller said between 400 and 450 children attend and more than 40 staff work there.

The district serves more than 16,000 students across 33 schools, according to NBC News. Its distance from Portland is described differently across outlets: Reuters places Bend 175 miles (280 km) southeast, the Associated Press says more than 100 miles (160 km), and NBC News describes it as about three and a half hours southeast of Portland.

On Thursday, the school became the scene of a shooting that drew hundreds of law enforcement personnel from across Central Oregon and sent children by bus to a reunification center at a nearby church.

Minute by Minute: The Police Timeline

The first call came at 12:59 p.m. PT, reporting a shot fired into a car outside the school, according to the Associated Press, which quoted Miller. About a minute later, dispatch sent a "tone" alerting all officers to respond to a critical scene, and within roughly the same two-minute span, multiple 911 calls reported that a person had entered the school and started shooting, Miller said.

Officers arrived at 1:02 p.m., and seconds later word came over the radio that the suspect was down. Miller put it this way: "At 1:02, as I said, our officers were on the scene, and moments later, the shooter had been shot and killed."

Two nearby residents described what they heard. Leah Schwartz, who lives in the Old Farm District neighborhood where the school sits, said she heard three gunshots, one after the other, at about 12:55 p.m. while walking her dog less than a mile away, according to NBC News. Erin Johnson, visiting her parents next door, said: "I heard what I thought was gunshots. Then my neighbor began to scream shortly thereafter — her kids go to school there, at Silver Rail. Then I heard the police coming in."

The school would take several hours to clear as officers moved from classroom to classroom, and children were still being evacuated as of 3 p.m. Police said a heavy law enforcement presence would remain for the indefinite future. A further media briefing was scheduled for 5:30 p.m. local time.

The Dead, and Why the Counts Do Not Agree

The death toll is contested. CNN, citing preliminary information from a law enforcement source, reported that three children and one adult were killed, and also reported the shooter is dead. CBS News, citing multiple law enforcement sources, reported at least three children and one adult were killed. NBC News, citing three senior law enforcement officials briefed on the preliminary investigation, reported four killed including children, with the ages unclear and the shooter also dead.

The Associated Press, citing two law enforcement officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it publicly, reported that authorities believe at least five people are dead. Both officials said the toll was preliminary and could change, and it was not clear whether the suspect was included among the five. Fox News reported five dead with the shooter included. Oregon Public Broadcasting, citing multiple sources, reported at least four dead including three children.

At the briefing, police would not give a number. Miller said: "We don't have a number at this point. We know children are among the victims." The unresolved question is whether the counts include the shooter.

Who Stopped the Shooter Remains Unanswered

Who shot the suspect is unestablished. Miller said: "We don't have confirmation yet who shot the suspect. It may have been a bystander." The Associated Press notes it is unclear whether the suspect was shot by police, a bystander or self-inflicted, while CBS News attributes the bystander account to law enforcement sources.

The suspect's age is reported, not confirmed by police. CNN and CBS say 16; the Associated Press, citing one of its two law enforcement sources, says 15 or 16. Police have not confirmed an age or an identity, and no authority has released the suspect's name. No motive has been established, and officials have offered none.

The Source, Bend's local paper, reported from the ground, citing sources and witnesses, that a man carrying a gun and wearing a bandolier of cartridges was seen by a man driving a red Toyota Tacoma pickup; the driver confronted him, and the gunman fired at the passerby and his truck, shattering a rear window. The assailant allegedly threw his gun over the school fence, and witnesses said he then entered the special education area, where at least three more shots were heard.

That account comes from The Source's sources and witnesses. Police confirmed only that they were investigating the report of shots fired into a vehicle. Justin Penfield, a parent whose child attends Silver Rail, shared a photograph of a pickup truck with a shot-out rear window.

The Reunification at Journey Church

Families were directed to a reunification center at Journey Church, 61303 S. Highway 97, near a Goodwill and a Dairy Queen. The church canceled its Thursday-night event and asked people to "join us in prayer for the families of Silver Rail Elementary School."

School buses carried students and staff to the center, with children disembarking youngest to oldest. Parent Drew Sharp, whose son is a fifth grader, the highest grade at the school, said: "Which makes sense, but it's just more time waiting." Sharp also said: "I have faith that he's okay and that he'll be alright."

Martha Close has a 10-year-old granddaughter at Silver Rail. After a wait, she was reunited with her late Thursday afternoon. She said: "In the moment, things seem to take forever. I just prayed." Sue Theons' grandson, a special education student at the school, was unharmed. She said: "This shouldn't happen here. It shouldn't happen anywhere, but it shouldn't happen here."

Gavin Straw, a Caldera High School student who went to the church to help once his own school's lockdown lifted, said: "I couldn't believe it. I was like, there's no way this is happening."

Local, State and Federal: The Response

Neighboring schools Caldera High School and Jewell Elementary went into lockdown, and those alerts were lifted as of 2 p.m. Hundreds of law enforcement personnel from agencies across Central Oregon responded. Bend police and the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office each set up incident command centers, Oregon State Police and local FBI agents were on scene, and Bend Fire & Rescue and Redmond Police also responded. Bend police are the lead agency on the investigation.

Bend Fire medics transported at least two people to St. Charles Medical Center in Bend, also called St. Charles Bend, according to police. Their conditions were not immediately known, and Miller said it was not clear whether the people taken to hospital were among the dead.

The FBI's Portland field office said agents were at the scene assisting local authorities: "We will make every resource they need available." FBI Director Kash Patel said on X that the FBI is on scene helping local police.

What Officials Said About Bend

Bend-La Pine Schools Superintendent Steven Cook said: "We are stunned and heartbroken by this senseless tragedy. We extend our deepest sympathy to the families and to everyone affected by this violence. No words can adequately express the grief our community is experiencing. Our immediate priorities are caring for our students and staff and assisting law enforcement and emergency responders."

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek said in a statement that she is closely monitoring the situation and is grateful to the first responders on the scene. She said she would share more as she learns more. State Sen. Christine Drazan, the Republican candidate for governor, expressed horror at the incident and said she is praying for those affected, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting.

Sen. Ron Wyden, in a post on X reported by CNN, said: "My heart is with the victims of today's shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School and their loved ones now facing the consequences of another school shooting in America." He added: "Once again we must ask how many schools must be shot up before Republicans agree to act to curb gun violence." Rep. Maxine Dexter issued a statement expressing condolences, according to KPTV.

Where This Fits in the National Count

CNN's analysis of events reported by the Gun Violence Archive, Education Week and Everytown for Gun Safety found there have been at least 52 school shootings in the United States so far this year, leaving at least 28 people dead and 48 others injured. The shooting at Silver Rail Elementary is the 36th on K-12 school grounds this year, according to that data.

Those figures come from organizations that compile reports of gunfire on school property, and they are separate from the local investigation, which remains with Bend police.

Bend-La Pine Schools has a school resource officer program in partnership with the Bend Police Department and the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office, with the officers covering multiple schools in localized areas. It was not immediately clear whether a school resource officer was at Silver Rail on Thursday, according to NBC News.

Cancellations, Vigils and Mental Health Support

All classes, activities and athletic events across Bend-La Pine Schools were canceled for Friday. KTVZ reported school and football games were canceled for the district, and police urged the public to avoid the school area.

Local clergy planned a vigil for 7 p.m. Thursday at Bend's Drake Park, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting. KTVZ reported a community vigil at Drake Park on Friday.

Deschutes County is assembling mental health professionals to support children and the broader community in the aftermath, county commissioner Phil Chang told Oregon Public Broadcasting by text message. Miller, choking up at the briefing, described the work still underway inside the school: "We're in the process at this time of going room by room and evacuating each of the people who are in that school. ... This is the kind of thing we never want to see happen in Bend. It's devastating."

What Is Still Not Known

No motive has been established or suggested by any authority. Police have not confirmed who shot the suspect. The suspect's name has not been released, and no authority has released the name or age of any victim.

The death toll remains preliminary. The Associated Press, citing two law enforcement officials, reported at least five dead and said both the toll and whether the suspect is counted are unclear. CNN, CBS News, NBC News and Oregon Public Broadcasting reported four killed including children. It is not settled whether the counts include the shooter.

The reported ages of 15 or 16 come from law enforcement sources, not from the department. The Source's ground account of the man in the bandolier and the confrontation outside remains a witness and source account published by the local paper.

By Jessica Ali, Staff Writer

This article was produced with AI-assisted research and editorial support. Sources: Bend Police Department briefings, Associated Press, CNN, CBS News, NBC News, Reuters, RTE, Oregon Public Broadcasting, The Source (Bend), Fox News, Salem Statesman Journal, KPTV/Fox 12 Oregon, KTVZ, KOIN, KHQ, KLCC.