Four reported dead and suspect killed in shooting at Oregon elementary school
Four people, including three children, have been killed in a shooting at an elementary school in Bend, Oregon. The teenage attacker is also dead.
A shooting at an elementary school in Bend, Oregon, has left four people dead — three children and one adult — on a day of horror for the small American city. The attacker, a teenager, was also killed as the incident unfolded.
Early accounts from the scene suggest the suspect may have been shot by a bystander, though officials have not yet confirmed the full sequence of events. Police and ambulances rushed to the school within minutes, and the building was placed on lockdown while officers made sure there was no further threat to pupils or staff.
Outside the school gates, frightened parents gathered and waited for news as children were reunited with their families one by one. Counsellors have been made available to pupils, teachers and relatives, and the wider community has begun to mourn the young lives lost in a place that should have been among the safest in their world.
An investigation into how and why the attack happened is now under way, and the names of the victims have not yet been released. The shooting is certain to renew America's long-running and painful debate about school safety and gun violence, but for the families of Bend, the questions that matter most tonight are far more personal than politics.
Candles, flowers and handwritten messages have begun to appear near the school as neighbours try to make sense of what happened. Messages of support have also arrived from across the United States, where communities that have lived through similar tragedies often reach out first. Bend, a city better known for mountains and mountain bikes, now joins a list no town ever wants to be on.
Reporting based on coverage from BBC News.
