A 16-year-old gunman killed four people, including three children, at an elementary school in Bend, Oregon, on Thursday, before being shot dead by an armed member of the public, police said.
The victims were children aged five, eight, and 11, and a teacher. A seven-year-old student and a 54-year-old teacher were taken to hospital with critical injuries, Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz said.
Police said the shooter got into Silver Rail Elementary School by shooting through locked doors.
Krantz said a member of the community, who has not been named, saw the suspect enter the school and followed him inside. Officers arrived within three minutes and found the suspect had been shot dead.
Oregon Governor Tina Kotek thanked the person who “heroically intervened to stop further loss of life”.
“No parent should have to have this kind of day, and no community should have to live through this kind of day,” she said.
Police first received a call at around 1pm local time reporting that a man had shot into a car at the school, followed moments later by multiple calls saying someone had entered the building and started shooting.
Silver Rail Elementary serves children from kindergarten to fifth grade, with around 450 students and 40 staff.
Bend is a city of about 100,000 people in central Oregon, around 280 kilometres southeast of Portland.
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