Teen gunman kills four at US elementary school

US elementary school shooting leaves four dead, two injured

The full report

A 16-year-old gunman opened fire at an elementary school in Bend, Oregon, killing three children and a teacher, according to DW News. The shooting occurred on Thursday, with the first 911 call coming in around 1 p.m. local time. The suspect was later killed by a community member who pursued him inside the school.

The three children killed were aged 5, 8, and 11, while another child, 7, and a teacher, 54, were injured and taken to a hospital in critical condition, according to France 24 English. The attacker used a pump-action shotgun that was purchased by his mother, a law enforcement official said.

Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz told reporters that the deceased at the scene include three children and one teacher. Additional 911 calls came from inside the school, and officers arrived within minutes. The suspect was shot and went down inside the school shortly after officers arrived, police spokesperson Sheila Miller said.

Oregon Governor Tina Kotek thanked the community member who 'heroically intervened to stop further loss of life.' The school serves kindergarten through fifth grade, roughly children aged 5 to 11, and has about 450 students and 40 staff members, Miller said. The United States experiences frequent gun violence, with thousands of people killed each year.

The deadliest school shooting in US history took place at Virginia Tech on April 16, 2007, where South Korean student Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people and wounded 17 others before taking his own life, according to DW News. There have been more than 365 mass shootings in the US so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive.