By Ann Duan

Source The Seattle Times

Three children and a teacher were killed in a shooting believed to have been committed by a 16-year-old at a Bend, Oregon, elementary school Thursday, according to Bend police.

The children were 5, 8 and 11. Officials said two people, including a 7-year-old student and a 54-year-old teacher, were taken to a nearby hospital with critical injuries.

“There are not really any words I can say to any of you that will make this better,” Bend police chief Mike Krantz said.

The shooter, a 16-year-old Bend resident, was shot and killed by a community member moments after police arrived on scene. The person saw the shooter enter the building and followed them inside the school.

Police responded to Silver Rail Elementary School around 1 p.m. after receiving reports of an active shooter, according to Bend Police. Around 12:59 p.m., a 911 caller in a vehicle outside the school said they were shot at multiple times by a person with a long gun. Dozens of calls flooded in shortly after reporting a person outside the school shooting into a car.

The shooter shot at locked doors and entered the school by force, police said.

The suspected shooter was believed to have used a pump-action shotgun purchased by his mother, a law enforcement official briefed on the shooting told The Associated Press.

Bend Police are leading an investigation into the shooting, including to determine whether or not the shooter was connected to the school or anyone at the school.

The elementary school, which has more than 400 students and 40 staff members, was placed under lockdown as school busses took students and teachers to a church away from campus to reunify with family members. The school has kindergarten through fifth grade classes, according to The Associated Press.

“This is the kind of thing you hear about in other places and pray that it never happens here,” said Bend-La Pine Schools superintendent Steven Cook. “And it has happened here.”

Cook announced all schools and school events will be canceled Friday. Police will also be present at Silver Rail Elementary School for the next few days.

Community members in Bend, located about 150 miles south of Portland, gathered Thursday evening for a vigil at Drake Park. Crisis counselors will be at Deschutes Central Library on Friday to support those who are grieving.

U.S. Rep. Janelle Bynum, whose congressional district includes Bend, said she would halt campaign activity to focus on supporting the community, The Oregonian reported.

“They’re killing our babies,” Bynum said in a Thursday statement. “Our babies are supposed to do arts and crafts at school, not use their desks as cover from gunfire. They’re supposed to make friends, not mourn them. This is every parent’s worst fear. My heart and my prayers and everything else I got is with the families at Silver Rail Elementary. When will it end?”

Washington lawmakers reacted to the shooting on social media.

“Truly no words for the absolute horror of what unfolded at Silver Rail Elementary today,” wrote U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene, who represents the 1st Congressional District. “Schools should be safe havens for our children, not places of unthinkable violence.”

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek said her heart was “absolutely broken” and thanked the civilian who pursued the shooter, The Associated Press reported.

“To the community member who heroically intervened to stop further loss of life: Your actions carry a heavy emotional burden, and I just want you to know that my thoughts are with you as well,” she said.

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