Tragedy struck in Bend, Oregon, yesterday at the Silver Rail Elementary School. A teenager armed with a long gun killed three children and a teacher, wounding another child and another teacher as well. The shooting may have gone on longer had it not been for an armed citizen who realized what had happened and shot the intruder to death before any more damage could be inflicted:
Three children and an adult were killed in a shooting at an Oregon elementary school Thursday, and the suspected gunman is also dead, shot by an armed good Samaritan.
The shooter was a 16-year-old Bend resident armed with a shotgun who was killed by an armed bystander with a concealed carry permit, federal law enforcement sources told Fox News.
The bystander "definitely prevented more deaths," one source said.
The good Samaritan saw the suspect shoot his way into the school and chose to run to the danger:
The shooter forced his way into the school by firing at locked doors, Krantz said, citing the initial investigation.
A "community member" saw the shooter enter, pursued him into the building and engaged him, according to Krantz.
Officers arrived within three minutes of the first emergency call. Moments later, an officer reported that the community member had shot the suspect.
Assuming these details hold up, that is the definition of a hero. And it was a good thing that this hero saw what transpired, because no one on the inside of the school had the ability to defend themselves. The school district had banned firearms on all premises, Newsweek reported this morning, even for those licensed to carry:
The Oregon school district where a teenage gunman was shot dead after killing four people had banned guns from its premises, authorities said. ...
The school is in a district, Bend-La Pine Schools, that banned guns from school grounds after a change in Oregon law in 2021. Newsweek has contacted the school district for comment via email.
Thursday’s shooting has reignited debate about school policies around guns, some people arguing that schools should remain gun-free zones, others saying that allowing some adults to carry concealed weapons could limit damage in the event of mass shootings.
We should rename "gun-free zones" to "target-rich environments." This policy ignored the data on school shootings, which have never (to my knowledge) involved an active teacher or school employee as the shooter. The risks for school shootings come from students and outside intruders, not school personnel. Teachers, administrators, and other personnel should be able to choose for themselves whether to carry firearms for personal protection and for the protection of students in their care. Instead, progressive school boards and legislators put up "gun-free zone" signs as virtue signals while leaving all of these children and employees vulnerable to attack.
Thank God for this unnamed "community member" in Oregon. Perhaps this school district and others will start considering teachers and staff as members of the same community and allow them the means for effective self-defense.
Addendum: Thus far, we have no details on the murderer. We'll update as developments warrant.