On Thursday, October 15th, a shooting incident occurred at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon.
According to reports from multiple law enforcement sources cited by CBS News, the incident resulted in at least 3 children and 1 adult being killed, with the suspect being fatally shot.
Authorities stated that the suspect involved in the shooting was only 16 years old.
Miller, the communications manager for the Bend Police Department, mentioned during a press conference on Thursday that it is still unclear who shot the suspect, speculating it may have been an onlooker at the scene. No further information about the suspect was provided by the police.
She also revealed that at least two injured individuals were taken to St. Charles Medical Center for treatment, including children, although the total number of victims is still unknown.
According to the timeline released by law enforcement, at 12:59 PM Pacific Time, the first caller reported a man shooting at a car.
At 1:00 PM, multiple 911 calls were made reporting a person entering the school and starting to shoot.
At 1:02 PM, the first officers arrived at the scene, and within seconds over the radio, it was reported that the suspect had been shot.
Leah Schwartz, a resident of the nearby Old Farm District, told NBC News that she and her husband were out for a walk less than a mile from the school when they heard three consecutive gunshots, followed by three more moments later.
She recalled, “There was a pause between the shots that made us wonder whether it was gunfire or if someone was doing construction work.”
Following the incident, the police swiftly evacuated the students from Silver Rail Elementary School and deployed a significant number of law enforcement officers around the school and a nearby church designated as a reunification site for parents and students.
FBI Director Kash Patel later stated that the bureau’s local office personnel had arrived at the scene to assist local law enforcement.
A law enforcement source mentioned that agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) had also arrived to assist local law enforcement, including the Oregon State Police.
Bend is located in central Oregon, approximately 150 miles southeast of Portland.
Steven Cook, the Superintendent of Bend-La Pine Schools, expressed shock and heartbreak over this “senseless tragedy” and offered the deepest condolences to the families of the victims.
He emphasized that the district’s top priority is to care for the students and staff and support law enforcement and rescue personnel.
According to the K-12 School Shooting Database, there were a total of 235 school shooting incidents in the United States in 2025.
So far this year, including this incident, there have been at least 149 school shootings.
The database notes that though the number of school shooting incidents remains higher than pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels, it appears to have decreased from the peak in 2023.