Frightened parents hurried to find their children at a family reunification center after a Thursday shooting at an Oregon elementary school left at least three children dead. Local officials described the attack as a “senseless tragedy.”

The shooting took place at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend after reports emerged at about 12:59 p.m. that shots had been fired into a vehicle near the campus.

Police reached the school by 1:02 p.m., and the lone shooter was killed moments later. Multiple reports identified the gunman as a 16-year-old boy.

“We are stunned and heartbroken by this senseless tragedy,” Steven Cook, superintendent of Bend–La Pine Schools, said. Silver Rail Elementary is part of the district.

Cook continued: “We extend our deepest sympathy to the families and to everyone affected by this violence. No words can adequately express the grief our community is experiencing.”

Law enforcement officers were evacuating classrooms and directed parents to a reunification center established at Journey Church, located at 61303 S Highway 97.

Buses carrying students arrived at the church so children could be reunited with their families, the Bend Bulletin reported. Silver Rail Elementary has roughly 450 students.

Oregon Rep. Janelle Bynum said the shooting affected her “deep, deep, deep in my soul,” adding that “the whole nation should” feel the same impact.

“Our babies are supposed to do arts and crafts at school, not use their desks as cover from gunfire,” Bynum said. “They’re supposed to make friends, not mourn them.”

Bynum called the shooting “every parent’s worst fear” and asked, “When will it end?”

Bend–La Pine school board member Marcus LeGrand said at Journey Church that the immediate priority was helping students reunite with their families.

The school district would then turn its attention to mental health support and counseling for affected families, LeGrand told the Bend Bulletin.

A large crowd of terrified parents gathered outside the school after learning about the shooting.

ALSO READ: MANHUNT: FBI Seeking Iranian Spy Suspected of Masterminding Assassination of U.S. Officials – NewsFinale

The school day and all activities scheduled for Friday were canceled.

Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden also addressed the deadly attack, saying parents and loved ones were “now facing the awful consequences of yet another school shooting in America.”

He called for gun-control legislation following the latest school shooting in the United States.

“The best way to honor these victims is to at long last pass common-sense gun laws that reduce the risks of more children, parents, teachers and staff being forced to live in fear of similar nightmares at their schools,” Wyden said.

Rep. Maxine Dexter said that schools ‘should be places of learning, friendship and joy.’ 

‘It is incumbent on me, and every lawmaker, to do everything we can to ensure our kids are safe,’ she said on X. 

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek called on locals to ‘come together and support each other, neighbor to neighbor, Oregonian to Oregonian.’ 

‘No community should have to live through this day,’ Kotek wrote on X.

At least two people were transported to a local hospital in the aftermath, though their status is unclear. It is unclear who shot the suspect.  

Officers have since asked the public to avoid the area as the school remains under lockdown.  

‘This is the kind of thing we never want to see happen in Bend,’ police spokeswoman Sheila Miller said.

‘Our hearts go out to this community, and we ask our community to really work together and come together at this time,’ Miller said.

Agents from the FBI’s Portland bureau have arrived at the scene to assist local authorities in the investigation, Kash Patel said.

‘We will make every resource they need available,’ Patel said on X.

A student at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology died after allegedly taking fentanyl that a man falsely presented as cocaine, federal prosecutors said Thursday. Prosecutors also accuse the man of sexually assaulting the unconscious student. Her friend took the drug as well and nearly died.

Moises Freire, 19, of the Bronx, faces charges of joining a fentanyl distribution conspiracy and supplying the lethal drug with the intent to commit rape. Brian Peralta Cabrera, 18, of Queens, was charged in the alleged drug conspiracy.

Prosecutors said Freire brought fentanyl to the students’ dorm room on March 18, falsely telling them it was cocaine. He had previously described the substance as “straight poison,” according to the government. After encouraging the women to take it, Freire watched as both rapidly lost consciousness. The student he is accused of raping fell into a coma and died three days later, on March 21. Freire was not enrolled at FIT.

Freire and Peralta Cabrera were arrested in March and pleaded not guilty to earlier charges that did not include the sexual-assault allegation. Both remain in federal detention and have not yet been arraigned on the new indictment.

A third defendant, Harry Rosales Pino, pleaded guilty in September to conspiring to distribute narcotics that caused death and serious bodily injury. He is scheduled to be sentenced in December.

Attorneys for Freire and Peralta Cabrera did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment. A conviction could bring both men a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

Court documents have not identified either woman.

The Fashion Institute of Technology, a State University of New York campus, was also not named in the court filings, although a defense attorney referenced the school during an earlier hearing. FIT officials did not immediately provide a comment.

During an April hearing, Freire’s attorney, Mitchell Schwartz, described the student’s death as tragic but argued that Freire had not intended to drug the women.

KEEP READING: Attacker's knife malfunctions as bishop wields cross for protection – NewsFinale

Schwartz told U.S. District Judge Sidney Stein that the events before the overdoses amounted to what he called “dumb teenager things.” He referred to the student’s suggestion that Freire wear a wig and “look like a girl” so he could enter her dorm room after she invited him over.

“It’s not dumb teenager things to give somebody fentanyl, sir,” Stein responded.

At that same hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Ariana Bloom outlined the rape allegation included in the superseding indictment unsealed Thursday.

Bloom said Freire acknowledged in a written statement to campus security that he had sex with the student and realized afterward that she was unconscious.

According to Bloom, Freire said he then looked to his left and saw the other student lying unconscious on the floor, her eyes “rolled back in her head.”

Rather than immediately call for help, Freire allegedly waited roughly 45 minutes and sent photographs of the unconscious women to other people, prosecutors said.

When he eventually went to campus security, prosecutors said, Freire claimed the women had simply consumed too much alcohol.

Christopher Roberts, who leads the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New York Task Force Division, called the allegations “beyond disturbing,” citing what he described as a cruel deception followed by an unimaginable assault.

“College should be a place where young people can learn, grow, and pursue their dreams, not a place where predators exploit their vulnerability,” Roberts said. “Every student deserves to feel safe, whether walking across campus, sitting in a classroom, or inside their own dorm room.”

Three children and one adult were killed Thursday in a shooting at an elementary school in Bend, Oregon. The suspected gunman also died, possibly after being shot by a bystander.

Federal law enforcement sources confirmed the deaths of the four victims to Fox News. Bend police said they were investigating whether a bystander killed the suspect inside Silver Rail Elementary School.

Officers moved through Silver Rail Elementary room by room as they evacuated the campus and worked to determine who shot and killed the suspected gunman.

“We don’t have confirmation yet who shot the suspect. It may have been a bystander,” Sheila Miller, communications manager for the Bend Police Department, said during a news briefing.

Bend Fire medics took at least two people to St. Charles, though their conditions were not immediately available.

Silver Rail Elementary has approximately 400 to 450 students and more than 40 staff members, officials said. It was not immediately known how many people were inside the school when the shooting occurred.

Miller became emotional while describing the shooting’s effect on the Bend community.

“This is the kind of thing we never want to see happen in Bend. It’s devastating,” Miller said.

Dispatchers received the first report at about 12:59 p.m. The caller said a shot had been fired into a car. Officers were alerted at 1 p.m. and arrived at approximately 1:02 p.m., according to the police communications manager.

Only seconds after officers reached the scene, a radio transmission reported that the suspect was down. During the police response, dispatchers received several 911 calls reporting an active shooter at the school.

Police said hundreds of law enforcement personnel from agencies throughout Central Oregon responded to the scene.

Agents from the FBI’s Portland field office also arrived to assist local authorities with the investigation.

ALSO READ: Ukraine ‘launches US-made long-range missiles’ at Putin’s key military airfield in Crimea & destroys ammo depot in blitz – NewsFinale

“We will make every resource they need available,” the FBI office said in a post on X.

Authorities directed families to Journey Church, located at 61303 S. Highway 97, for reunification. Police also urged the public to stay away from the area surrounding the school.

Silver Rail Elementary serves students from kindergarten through fifth grade in the Bend-La Pine school district. The school’s principal is Lybe Hawkins.

School data shows that Silver Rail enrolled 459 students and had about 30 teaching staff members during the 2024-2025 school year. Police previously put the school’s current enrollment at 400 to 450 students, with more than 40 staff members overall.

No events were listed on the school’s public-facing calendar for Thursday.

Bend-La Pine Schools Superintendent Steven Cook said the district was “stunned and heartbroken by this senseless tragedy.”

“We extend our deepest sympathy to the families and to everyone affected by this violence,” Cook said in a statement shared by police. “No words can adequately express the grief our community is experiencing. Our immediate priorities are caring for our students and staff and assisting law enforcement and emergency responders.”

Bend police also expressed support for those affected.

“We are thinking of the families and friends of Silver Rail Elementary and everyone in Bend and beyond who are affected by this terrible tragedy,” the department said.

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek said she was closely monitoring the situation.

“I am grateful to the first responders who are on the scene,” Kotek wrote on X. “I will share as I learn more.”

Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., said he and his team were also closely monitoring reports of an active shooter at the school.

“As details continue to come out, my heart is with the Bend community and all of the students and families affected,” Merkley wrote on X. “No one should have to fear violence at school.”

Rep. Janelle Bynum, D-Ore., whose district includes Bend, called the shooting “every parent’s worst fear.”

“Our babies are supposed to do arts and crafts at school, not use their desks as cover from gunfire,” Bynum said in a statement posted on X.

“My heart and my prayers and everything else I got is with the families at Silver Rail Elementary. When will it end?”

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.