16-Year-Old Gunman Killed After Shooting at Oregon Elementary School
Andrew Powell · Oct 16, 2026 · 2 min read
Three children and an adult were killed Thursday in a shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, after a community member with a firearm confronted and fatally shot the suspected gunman.
The suspect was identified as a 16-year-old Bend resident who was armed with a shotgun, according to federal law enforcement sources, per Fox News.
The sources said the armed bystander intervened after the teenager entered the school and “definitely prevented more deaths.”
Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz said the children who died were 5, 8 and 11 years old. A 7-year-old child and a 54-year-old teacher were also shot and taken to St. Charles Bend with critical injuries.
According to Krantz, the shooter forced his way into the school by firing at locked doors. A community member witnessed the suspect entering the building, followed him inside and confronted him.
The first emergency call came at 12:59 p.m. from someone in a vehicle who reported being shot at several times by a person carrying a long gun. Dispatchers soon received numerous calls reporting that a shooter had entered the school.
An alert went out to law enforcement at 1 p.m., while officers ordered the school into lockdown at 1:01 p.m. The first officers arrived one minute later.
Officers then learned that the community member had shot the suspect. Police entered the building, confirmed the teenager was dead and began searching the school room by room before treating wounded victims.
Authorities said five people were found dead at the scene, including the shooter. Investigators were still working to determine how far the suspect had traveled through the building, whether he knew anyone at the school and whether he had previously attended Silver Rail Elementary.
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek praised school employees, parents, first responders and the community member who intervened. She described the intervention as an act that stopped additional loss of life.
Students and staff were taken by Bend-La Pine school buses to Journey Church to reunite with family members and guardians. The FBI’s Portland field office also said it was assisting local authorities.
Silver Rail Elementary serves students from kindergarten through fifth grade and enrolled 459 students during the 2024-2025 school year.
All Bend-La Pine schools, activities and athletic events were canceled Friday. Crisis counselors were made available at the Central Library as investigators prepared to maintain a large police presence at the school for several days.