Teacher 'tackled' suspect in US school shooting - police

A 16-year-old boy shot and killed a teacher and three children at an Oregon school, officials said. However, another teacher and an armed community member intervened, stopping the shooter and saving lives, local police chief Mike Krantz told a press conference. Three school children aged five, eight, and 11, along with the 25-year-old teacher, lost their lives, while a 7-year-old was wounded and in a serious but stable condition.

Another teacher suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries. The teacher who thwarted the shooter tackled and fought him, throwing her phone at him. A 36-year-old community member then entered the school and fatally shot the suspect, preventing further harm, Krantz said, visibly emotional. The teacher who stood her ground for her children's safety was the true hero, Krantz added, without naming her.

The suspect had been seen throwing his weapon over the school fence before scaling the fence onto school grounds. Bend, a city of approximately 100,000 residents about 280km southeast of Portland, gathered to mourn the victims on the morning of the shooting, placing flowers and candles at the yellow crime scene tape. Michael Zappa, 71, recounted how the community member who shot the suspect saved many lives that day.

The US has seen a rise in school shootings in recent years; since the beginning of 2026, 149 incidents involving gunfire in schools have occurred, resulting in 118 deaths and injuries, according to the K-12 School Shooting Database. The Gun Violence Archive has recorded 371 mass shootings since January 2026, defining a mass shooting as four or more people being struck by gunfire, not including the shooter. Three of those shootings, including the one in Bend, took place in public schools.