NEWTOWN, Conn. – Three children and one teacher were killed when a 16-year-old shooter opened fire at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon on Thursday. One child and a teacher were also critically injured in the shooting and have been hospitalized.
The three children who were killed were 5, 8, and 11 years old.
The teen shooter reportedly used a pump-action shotgun that had been purchased by his mother to shoot their way through the locked doors of the school to gain entry. A witness who saw the attack unfolding followed the shooter inside and shot and killed them minutes after the incident began. Officers arrived at the scene within three minutes of the first 911 call, and by then the shooter was already down.
Although the circumstances of how the teen accessed the weapon used in this attack are currently unknown, research has shown that adolescent school shooters commonly use guns stolen from a family member.
There have been at least 25 school shootings on K-12 school property in 2026 that have resulted in injuries or deaths, in addition to yesterday’s tragedy in Oregon, according to a nationwide Education Week analysis.
In response to yesterday’s attack, Nicole Hockley, co-founder and CEO of Sandy Hook Promise and mother of Dylan who was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy, issued the following statement:
“I am heartbroken. And I am furious. Three young children – just 5, 8, and 11 years old – and a teacher should be home with their families today. Instead, those families are facing an agony I know all too well. When my 6-year-old son Dylan was killed in his first-grade classroom at Sandy Hook Elementary, his entire future was stolen. Today, more families in Bend are beginning to understand the unbearable permanence of that loss. No one should ever have to experience this.
“What I cannot accept is that we keep allowing this to be the story of childhood in America. Children hiding from gunfire in classrooms. Parents desperately waiting to learn whether their child is alive. Families returning to homes where a backpack, a pair of shoes, or an unfinished drawing will become unbearable reminders of who is missing. We should be outraged.
“The shooter who committed this horror was reportedly just 16 years old. Sixteen. That age does not excuse a single thing he did, but it adds another devastating dimension to this tragedy. How does a 16-year-old reach the point of taking a gun into an elementary school to kill innocent children? How was he able to access to that weapon? Were there warning signs? Were there opportunities for family or peers to intervene before he pulled that trigger? Those questions demand urgent answers.
“While we continue to learn the details of what happened at Silver Rail Elementary, we do not need to wait for every answer to insist that protecting children requires action long before a tragedy unfolds. We cannot keep relying solely on locked doors, or teaching children how to hide, and calling that enough.
“At Sandy Hook Promise, we know prevention saves lives. Preventing tragedy means securing firearms from unauthorized access, recognizing the early warning signs of a young person in crisis, making it safe to speak up, ensuring someone is ready to respond, and intervening long before a crisis turns deadly. This work must be an absolute priority in every community, backed by sustained commitment and resources.
“I am sick knowing what these families in Oregon are facing and will face in the days ahead. I am enraged that more children have had their futures stolen or threatened by school shootings. None of us should accept this. Our children deserve to grow up, and we owe them far more than grief after we have failed to protect them yet again.”
For more information about gun violence prevention, resources for how communities can heal after a tragedy, and ways to support bipartisan policies that are proven to save lives, please visit sandyhookpromise.org.
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Sandy Hook Promise (SHP) envisions a future where all children are free from school shootings and other acts of violence. As a national nonprofit organization, SHP’s mission is to educate and empower youth and adults to prevent violence in schools, homes, and communities. Creators of the life-saving, evidence-informed “Know the Signs” prevention programs, SHP teaches the warning signs of someone who may be in crisis, socially isolated, or at-risk of hurting themselves or others and how to get help. SHP also advances school safety, youth mental health, and responsible gun ownership at the state and federal levels through nonpartisan policy and partnerships. SHP is led by several family members whose loved ones were killed in the tragic mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012.
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