Witnesses speak out following shooting at Oregon elementary school as police confirm details
A shooting at an elementary school in Bend, Oregon, has left three children dead and another young student in critical condition.
A 16-year-old opened fire at an elementary school in Bend, Oregon, on Thursday (October 15), killing the three children, aged 5, 8, and 11, as well as a teacher. They have not been publicly identified yet.
Another child, aged seven, was injured alongside a 54-year-old school teacher. They were rushed off to hospital in critical condition, according to police.
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The attacker, identified as a Bend resident, forced his way into the school by shooting at locked doors.
He was shot and went down inside the school shortly after officers arrived, police spokesperson Sheila Miller said.
A 'community member' is reported to have fatally shot the teen attacker. Dispatch audio suggested it was a father of a child at the school who 'neutralized' the shooter 'within about five minutes', CBS News reports.
Witnesses have been coming forward to share their accounts of what they saw as the harrowing situation unfolded at the Oregon school, which serves students in kindergarten through fifth grade.
Per The US Sun, witnesses saw a teen with a long gun force their way into the elementary school.
Police were first alerted at 12.59pm when they received a report from a 'person in a vehicle who reported being shot at multiple times by a person with a long gun'.
Elsewhere, witnesses recalled the huge police presence at the school. One man, Caleb Weis, who spoke to ABC News said that police were 'piling in'.
"Every first responder I've ever seen, all the agencies, you've got country sheriff, the city police, and the state police all simultaneously responding," he shared.
"It almost looked automatic. Everywhere they were staging, everything they were doing seemed like they were every highly trained."
Wies continued to say of the paramedics who were also at the scene: "I guess there was someone injured on the side door that was visible from the road, and they were leaping across the grass with a stretcher.
"They were immediately hands on and right on cue."
A news conference was held last night, where Oregon governor Tina Kotek said her heart was 'absolutely broken' and thanked the civilian who pursued the shooter.
"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 of the person who hasn't not yet been publicly named.
Police have said they did not know if the attacker knew anyone at the school or whether he had attended.
If you or someone you know has been affected by gun violence, please find more information and support via Survivors Empowered on their website.
Niamh Shackleton