Bend School Shooting Sparks Renewed Calls for Gun Law Reform A shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, killed three children and a teacher. Lawmakers react with calls for stricter gun laws. A tragic shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, on Thursday, October 15, 2026, left three children and one teacher dead, with two others critically injured. The attack has prompted renewed calls from lawmakers for stricter gun laws. The suspected gunman, a 16-year-old, used his mother's shotgun, according to The Associated Press. Details of the Bend School ShootingThe first emergency call came at 12:59 p.m. from a person in a vehicle who reported being shot at multiple times by someone carrying a long gun, Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz said. Dispatchers then received dozens of calls reporting that a shooter had entered the school. Officers arrived within three minutes of the first emergency call.Moments later, an officer reported that a community member had shot the teenage suspect. Police said they did not know if the shooter knew anyone at the school or if he had attended when he was younger. The children killed were aged 5, 8, and 11. Another child, aged 7, and a teacher, aged 54, were critically injured.Lawmakers Demand Action on Gun ViolenceDemocratic Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon made one of the most explicit calls for tighter gun laws following the shooting. In a statement, he said that the best way to honor the victims is to at long last pass common-sense gun laws that reduce the risks of more children, parents, teachers, and staff forced to live in fear of similar nightmares for their schools.Representative Suzanne Bonamici, Democrat of Oregon, said Thursday night that the epidemic of gun violence in schools across America must come to an end. No parent should have to wonder if their child will come home at the end of the day, she said. Children deserve to feel safe and be safe in school.Democratic Representative Janelle Bynum, who represents Oregon's 5th Congressional District, which includes Bend, attended a nighttime vigil for the teacher and children killed in the shooting. She asked when the country would step up and say enough of killing our babies, and when it would ensure that people who should not have firearms do not have them. She also praised the bravery of the bystander who intervened.Statements from Senator Jeff Merkley, Democrat of Oregon, and Governor Tina Kotek stopped short of calling for new regulation on guns, but both made it clear that gun violence should have no place in American schools. Democrats outside Oregon, such as Senator Martin Heinrich, expressed support for going further on gun control, with Heinrich stating that much more must be done and that not a single child should be lost to gun violence, ever.Community and Investigative ResponseThe reactions from lawmakers came as authorities in Bend continue to piece together how the deadly attack unfolded and how the teenage gunman obtained the weapon he used. Police said they did not know if the shooter knew anyone at the school or if he had attended when he was younger. The investigation is ongoing.School buses were lined up outside Silver Rail Elementary School on the day of the shooting. A vigil was held Thursday night for the victims. The community is mourning the loss of three children and a teacher, and two others remain critically injured.