Three children and a teacher have died following a shooting at a primary school in Oregon in the US.
This shooting took place in Bend, a city located in central Oregon, almost 300km southeast of Portland in the Oregon high desert, adjacent to the Deschutes National Forest.
Police have confirmed that a 16 year old had opened fire at the school, having entered Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend by firing through locked doors, without offering any details beyond the suspect's age.
This led to the deaths of three children, aged five, eight and eleven, and one teacher. It was also confirmed that another teacher and seven year old student were taken to hospital with critical injuries, Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz revealed at a press conference.
Chief Krantz revealed that a community member saw this suspect enter the school, before pursuing him.
At the same briefing, Oregon Governor Tina Kotek, thanked the community member who "heroically intervened to stop further loss to life".
"No parent should have to have this kind of day, and no community should have to live through this kind of day. And as we learn more about the children and the adults who have been killed or injured, and their families and their loved ones, we are going to do a lot of crying, and we are going to cry together, and we're probably going to cry privately", she added.
Chief Krantz then confirmed that emergency responders received a call at 12.59pm local time, from a person in a vehicle who had reported being shots at multiple times by someone armed with a long gun. Dozens of calls were then received saying that the shooter had entered the school, with law enforcement directing the school to go into lockdown.
Three minutes later, officers arrived, and moments later, one officer reported that the suspect was shot, with police confirming the suspect was dead.
One gun control advocate, Gabrielle Giffords, a former congresswoman who survived a mass shooting in 2011, said that she was "heartbroken" by the latest incident in Bend.
She said in a statement: "This cannot continue to be a reality in our country. Leaders at every level must step up and act". (All quotes according to RTÉ).
