Terrified parents rush to crisis center after Oregon elementary school shooting as devastated officials address ‘senseless tragedy’

Frightened parents rushed to locate their kids at a crisis center after Thursday’s shooting at an Oregon elementary school that left at least three children dead and local officials called a ‘senseless tragedy.’

The shooting happened at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, where reports of shots fired into a vehicle near the school came around 12.59pm.

Police arrived at the scene by 1.02pm and the lone shooter was killed moments later. The gunman is believed to be a 16–year–old boy, according to multiple reports.

‘We are stunned and heartbroken by this senseless tragedy,’ Steven Cook, the Bend–La Pine Schools Superintendent, said. The elementary school is part of the district.

Cook added: ‘We extend our deepest sympathy to the families and to everyone affected by this violence. No words can adequately express the grief our community is experiencing.’

Law enforcement said it was in the process of evacuating each classroom and asked parents to respond to a reunification center that has been set up for families at Journey Church at 61303 S Highway 97. 

Buses with students are arriving at the church to reunite with their families, the Bend Bulletin reported. The school has roughly 450 students.

Oregon Rep. Janelle Bynum said that she felt the school shooting ‘deep, deep, deep in my soul,’ adding that ‘the whole nation should.’

‘Our babies are supposed to do arts and crafts at school, not use their desks as cover from gunfire,’ Bynum added. ‘They’re supposed to make friends, not mourn them.’ 

Bynum called the tragedy ‘every parent’s worst fear’ and asked, ‘When will it end?’

Bend–La Pine school board member Marcus LeGrand said from Journey Church that the focus on was on ensuring that the kids were reuniting with their families. 

The school will then focus on mental health and counseling services for those affected families, LeGrand told the Bend Bulletin. 

A large crowd of terrified parents gathered outside the school after hearing about the shooting. 

The school day and all activities have been canceled for Friday. 

Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden also addressed the fatal event, saying parents and loved ones were ‘now facing the awful consequences of yet another school shooting in America.’

He urged for gun control legislation to be passed after the latest school shooting in the US.

‘The best way to honor these victims is to at long last pass common–sense gun laws that reduce the risks of more children, parents, teachers and staff forced to live in fear of similar nightmares for their schools,’ Wyden said.

Rep. Maxine Dexter said that schools ‘should be places of learning, friendship and joy.’ 

‘It is incumbent on me, and every lawmaker, to do everything we can to ensure our kids are safe,’ she said on X. 

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek called on locals to ‘come together and support each other, neighbor to neighbor, Oregonian to Oregonian.’ 

‘No community should have to live through this day,’ Kotek wrote on X.

At least two people were transported to a local hospital in the aftermath, though their status is unclear. It is unclear who shot the suspect.  

Officers have since asked the public to avoid the area as the school remains under lockdown.  

‘This is the kind of thing we never want to see happen in Bend,’ police spokeswoman Sheila Miller said.

‘Our hearts go out to this community, and we ask our community to really work together and come together at this time,’ Miller said.

Agents from the FBI’s Portland bureau have arrived at the scene to assist local authorities in the investigation, Kash Patel said.

‘We will make every resource they need available,’ Patel said on X.