Children aged 5, 8 and 11 killed in US school shooting before suspect shot by bystander

Police said the attacker was a local 16-year-old boy, but they did not release any further details on him or the identity of the victims. They were alerted to an active shooter at Silver Rail Elementary at 12:59 local time (19:59 GMT), Bend Police Department spokeswoman Sheila Miller told reporters. The first call came from a person who said that an unknown suspect was shooting into their car with a long gun, police said. Photos released from the scene show a red truck with bullet holes. Minutes later, the local county dispatch received 911 calls reporting that the attacker had entered the school. Police said he shot at locks on the doors in order to force his way inside. Local media reports suggested the school received new classroom doors in 2022 which can be locked with the flip of a switch. A bystander saw the shooting begin to unfold, pursued the attacker into the school and shot him dead, police explained. Three minutes later, officers first arrived at the scene. They confirmed that the attacker had been killed, and then searched the school. Oregon Governor Tina Kotek praised the bystander 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 told a media briefing alongside other officials. A local newspaper reporter told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the school was in lockdown during the shooting and that students were able to communicate with parents outside with their Apple watches. Michael Kohn, a reporter with Bulletin newspaper, said the incident had left the parents stunned. "This is a neighbourhood school. Parents are stunned. It's just something you don't expect to happen in Bend, Oregon. It's a mountain town," he said. Teacher Kathy Sheil Smith described to CNN affiliate KPTV how she tried to keep the children calm after spotting the gunman approach the school. "The looks on their faces was really hard to see," she said. "Some kids were praying, some kids were consoling other kids. I'm sure that every teacher at the school thought 'Today is the day that I am going to die,'" she added. Schools in Bend will be closed on Friday. Officials said the community needed time to heal. Around 450 children attend Silver Rail Elementary School, which has more than 40 adult staff members, police said. According to the K-12 School Shooting Database, there were 235 shooting incidents at American schools last year and at least 140 so far this year.