By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
A school shooter in Bend, Oregon—described as a 16-year-old who apparently was armed with a long gun—was shot dead by an armed private citizen who, according to Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz, “saw the suspect enter the school and pursued him and engaged him.”
Krantz confirmed the actions of the unidentified “community member” during a press conference viewed on YouTube.
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek praised the actions of the unidentified citizen, telling an early evening press conference held in Bend, that the person “heroically intervened to stop further loss of life.”
“Your actions carry a heavy emotional burden,” Gov. Kotek said, “and I just want you to know my thoughts are with you as well.”
According to Krantz, the first call came into Deschutes County Dispatch at 12:59 p.m. “from a person in a vehicle who reported in a vehicle who reported being shot at multiple times by a person with a long gun.”
“At 1:02 p.m.,” Chief Krantz detailed, “our first officers arrived on the scene. Moments later, an officer reported that the suspect had been shot by a community member.”
Krantz said the three children killed in the attack were ages 5, 8 and 11.
KATU News in Portland, and CNN reported that the victims included three children and one adult. Others at the school were wounded and were rushed to a local hospital.
Responding police officers and sheriff’s deputies went room-to-room clearing the school, evacuating students and staff.
This is not the first time an armed citizen has intervened in a shooting, and in recent years, media reports have increasingly shown no reluctance in reporting such interventions.
FBI Director Kash Patel reportedly dispatched FBU agents to the scene and promised to make every resource available as needed.
Bend is a city of more than 100,000 residents and the county seat of Deschutes County in central Oregon.
