At least four people have been killed in a shooting at an elementary school in Oregon, part of the northwestern United States, according to local law enforcement.

The shooting on Thursday took place at Silver Rail Elementary School in the city of Bend, about 160 kilometres (100 miles) southeast of Portland.

Three children were among the dead: they were aged five, eight and 11, according to Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz. A teacher was also killed.

In addition, a seven-year-old child and a 54-year-old teacher were transported to St Charles Medical Center in Bend with critical injuries.

In an afternoon news conference, Krantz identified the alleged shooter as a 16-year-old Bend resident, who was killed at the scene. The suspect has yet to be named.

“What the initial investigation is showing is that the shooter had forced their way into the school by shooting at locked doors,” Krantz said. He added that investigators were still determining whether the suspect had attended the school at any point.

Emergency services began receiving calls for help around 12:59pm local time (19:59 GMT), with “dozens” of additional calls in the ensuing minutes.

The first call, Krantz explained, came from “a person in a vehicle who reported being shot at multiple times by a person with a long gun”. The elementary school went into lockdown at 1:01pm (20:01 GMT), and officers arrived on the scene shortly thereafter.

“Moments later, an officer reported that a suspect had been shot by a community member who had seen the suspect enter the school and pursued him into the school and engaged him,” Krantz said.

“Our officers entered the building and confirmed the suspect was dead. They cleared the school to ensure there were no additional threats and then rendered emergency aid to the victims.”

He emphasised that the police investigation was ongoing and further information would be released to the public in the coming days.

The families of the victims have been notified of the attack. Police evacuated each room in the school, and students and staff were transported by bus to a nearby church where they could be reunited with their loved ones.

“This is the kind of thing we never want to see happen in Bend. It’s devastating,” said Sheila Miller, the communications manager for the Bend Police Department, on Thursday.

Kash Patel, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), said in a post on social media that the agency was on the scene assisting local law enforcement in the investigation.

“We will make every resource they need available,” he wrote.

Oregon Governor Tina Kotek called on Oregonians to come together to support each other through their grief.

“All Oregonians mourn this loss today. This is a horrible day. No parent should have to have this kind of day, and no community should have to live through this kind of day,” Kotek said.

She also addressed the unnamed bystander who confronted the shooter. “To the community member who heroically intervened to stop further loss of life, your actions carry a heavy emotional burden, and I just want you to know that my thoughts are with you as well.”

Jeff Merkley, who represents Oregon in the US Senate, was among the political leaders to offer condolences in the wake of the shooting.

“My heart is with the Bend community and all of the students and families affected. No one should have to fear violence at school,” he wrote in a post on the social media platform X.

The Gun Violence Archive, which tracks shootings across the US, has documented 369 mass shootings in 2026 so far, defined as incidents where there were four or more victims injured or killed, not including the suspect.

The violence prevention group Everytown for Gun Safety has counted at least 100 incidents of gunfire on school grounds in the US this year. Thirty-four people have died as a result.