Children were among the victims when police responded to a shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, and the gunman was killed within minutes of the first alert. Bend police reached the school in 3 minutes, after dispatch began getting calls at 12:59 p.m. PT.
Sheila Miller, communications manager with the Bend Police Department, said dispatch received multiple 911 calls reporting an active shooter at the school. Officers arrived at 1:02 p.m., and police learned over the radio seconds later that the suspect was down.
Silver Rail Elementary School
Bend La-Pine Schools said the school remained on lockdown with police and emergency services at the scene at 1:30 p.m. local time. That left families waiting for word from the people at the center of the response, while the school system kept the building secured.
Agents from the FBI’s Portland bureau were at the scene assisting local authorities, and at least one FBI agent was on site that afternoon. Federal law enforcement officials said the Oregon State Police may become the lead agency in the investigation, which would shift control of the case into state hands if that step is taken.
At St. Charles Bend, the status of the people transported there was unknown. The St. Charles Health System said, “Our hearts are with the affected families, our community and the first responders.”
Melanie Kebler news conference
Bend Mayor Melanie Kebler and other officials were scheduled to hold a news conference at 5:30 p.m. PT. That is the first public update expected to address how many people were injured, what authorities can say about the victims’ conditions, and how the investigation will proceed from here.
