True Crime
Three children and a teacher were killed in a shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, and a community member shot and killed the 16-year-old gunman.
Bend police said a 16-year-old Bend resident fired through the locked doors of Silver Rail Elementary School shortly before 1 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, killing three students ages 5, 8 and 11 and a teacher. A 7-year-old student and a 54-year-old teacher were critically injured. A community member who saw the teen enter the school followed him inside and shot and killed him before officers arrived.
By Crime Talk Network Staff Writer ·
The facts that matter most in the next few days are how a 16-year-old got the long gun and what, if anything, anyone knew beforehand. NBC News noted that Oregon bars sales of long guns to anyone under 18 but allows minors to possess them with parental consent, and the Associated Press reported, citing a law enforcement official, that the shotgun was bought by the teen's mother. Police have not announced charges against anyone, and Chief Mike Krantz called it a long investigation.
Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz said at a Thursday evening news conference that Deschutes County dispatch received a call at 12:59 p.m. PT on Oct. 15, 2026, from a person in a vehicle who said they were being shot at multiple times by a person with a long gun. Within minutes, dispatch received dozens of 911 calls reporting that a shooter had entered Silver Rail Elementary School, a K-5 school with more than 400 students, NBC News reported.
Police said the shooter forced his way into the building by firing through the locked doors. The school went into lockdown at 1:01 p.m. When the first officers arrived at about 1:02 p.m., they learned the suspect had already been shot by a community member who saw him enter the school, pursued him inside and engaged him, Krantz said. Officers confirmed the suspect was dead, then evacuated classrooms and bused students and staff to a reunification site at nearby Journey Church.
Three students, ages 5, 8 and 11, and a teacher were killed. A 7-year-old student and a 54-year-old teacher were taken to St. Charles Medical Center in Bend with critical injuries. Police said all of the families have been notified but did not release the victims' names. The community member who stopped the gunman has also not been publicly identified.
Police identified the shooter only as a 16-year-old Bend resident and said they are still investigating his motive and whether he had any connection to the school. Officials did not say how many shots were fired or how far into the building he got. The Associated Press reported, citing a law enforcement official briefed on the shooting, that he used a pump-action shotgun purchased by his mother, and NBC News reported that the ATF received the results of an urgent trace on the gun Thursday evening. The FBI and ATF are assisting Bend police.
Gov. Tina Kotek praised school staff, parents, first responders and the community member who intervened. Bend-La Pine Schools canceled all classes and activities on Friday, Oct. 16, and said crisis counselors would be available. No charges against anyone have been announced, and any future case would have to be proven in court. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Shop
Checkout is on Shopify. A few from the rack:
More on the desk
By Crime Talk Network Staff Writer
Perkasie man Aaron McComsey was arrested on a federal indictment accusing him of threatening to kill a congressman identified as Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick.
Threat cases turn on whether the words were a true threat meant to intimidate an official over his job, not just angry venting. The emails quoted in the indictment tie the alleged threats to McComsey's complaints about health coverage and money he demanded from the congressman, which is how prosecutors will argue they were aimed at official duties. He faces up to 12 years if convicted.
Read the take
Reporting noted by U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, The Philadelphia Inquirer, WFMZ, and Bucks County Herald.
By Crime Talk Network Staff Writer
Davenport police charged Bryan Wayne, 22, with first-degree murder in the death of a 6-month-old.
These are charges, not a conviction. Wayne was first charged in late September with felony child endangerment causing serious injury; police upgraded the case after the baby died. Court documents described by KWQC say his accounts of what happened were inconsistent, and police say he was the child's sole caretaker at the time.
Read the take
Reporting noted by KWQC, WQAD, and Davenport Police Department.
By Crime Talk Network Staff Writer
Broward cold-case detectives charged Brittany Hanfield and Sheila Arstil with murder in the 2007 killing of Leon Heron.
Thursday's announcement is the public account of two first-degree murder charges in a killing that sat unsolved for nearly 19 years. Detective David Towsley says the evidence includes DNA and confessions. That is his description of the file. A grand jury indictment of Arstil on Oct. 7, and Hanfield's arrest on Nov. 10, 2025, are charging steps. They are not a trial.
Read the take
Reporting noted by CBS Miami, NBC 6, Boca Post, and Broward Sheriff's Office.