BEND, Ore. — The investigation into Thursday’s deadly shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School entered its second day on Friday with the most important questions still unanswered: who the 16-year-old gunman was, how he obtained his weapon, and why he chose the school.
Three children aged 5, 8 and 11 and a teacher were killed shortly before 1 p.m. Pacific time on Thursday after the teenager forced his way into the kindergarten-through-fifth-grade school by firing at its locked doors, according to Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz. A 7-year-old child and a 54-year-old teacher were critically injured and taken to St. Charles Medical Center. Families of all the victims have been notified, but police have released no names.
What is confirmed so far
The first 911 call came at 12:59 p.m. from a driver outside the school who reported being shot at by a person with a long gun. Within minutes, dispatchers began receiving calls of a shooter inside the building; officers arrived by 1:02 p.m. and found the suspect already dead. A law-enforcement official briefed on the investigation said the weapon was a pump-action shotgun bought by the gunman’s mother, although police have publicly described it only as a long gun.
The shooting ended because a community member saw the teenager enter the school carrying the weapon, followed him inside and fatally shot him, Krantz said. Oregon’s governor called the bystander a hero, saying the intervention stopped further loss of life. The bystander’s identity has not been released, and police have not said whether the teenager had any connection to the school. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is assisting, and detectives were expected to remain at the school for several days. It is the latest American gun-violence story to unfold as live news, following recent live coverage of an airport attack in the Middle East and a shipping crisis in the Strait of Hormuz.
What comes next
Another media briefing is expected on Friday afternoon, when police are likely to face the same questions that went unanswered overnight: whether the teenager attended Silver Rail or knew anyone inside, whether there were warning signs, and how he obtained the weapon. The attack was the 28th mass killing in the United States this year, according to the latest confirmed reporting from Oregon.
The Bend-La Pine district cancelled classes and activities on Friday at all 32 of its schools, and flags at Oregon public institutions are flying at half staff in honour of the victims. Thousands attended a candlelight vigil at Drake Park on Thursday evening. For now, the city waits on the investigation — and on answers.
