Key takeaways:
- Federal law enforcement officials told CBS News that several people were killed; Bend police had not confirmed a death toll.
- At least two people were taken to St. Charles Medical Center, and police said children were among the victims.
- Police arrived about three minutes after a reported shot into a car and soon learned the suspect had been shot and killed; they did not know who shot the suspect.
Several people were killed in a shooting Thursday at an elementary school in Bend, Oregon, federal law enforcement officials told CBS News. Children were among the victims, local police said, but authorities had not confirmed the total number of victims or how many had died.
The suspected gunman was shot and killed at Silver Rail Elementary School, Bend Police communications manager Sheila Miller said. Police did not know who shot the suspect, she said, adding that it “may have been a bystander.” The suspect’s identity was not immediately available.
Police received a report of a shot fired into a car just before 1 p.m. local time, Miller said. According to The Guardian, Miller placed that report at about 12:59 p.m. Officers arrived at the school at about 1:02 p.m. and soon learned that the suspected shooter had been killed inside the building.
At least two people were taken to St. Charles Medical Center, Miller said at a news conference. She said “the victims include children,” but did not say whether the hospitalized people were among those reported killed. Police had not confirmed the victims’ identities or ages, and their conditions were not immediately clear.
The reports left significant questions unanswered. CBS News reported several deaths, citing federal law enforcement officials, while local police had not provided a death toll. Authorities also had not said who fired the shot that killed the suspect or released further information about that person.
Emergency officials were evacuating the school room by room, The Guardian reported. The FBI was helping local authorities investigate, the agency’s director, Kash Patel, said, according to The Guardian. A law enforcement source told CBS News that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was also at the scene, along with Oregon State Police.
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek said on social media that she was monitoring the situation, The Guardian reported.
Bend is in central Oregon, about 150 miles southeast of Portland.
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