The teen gunman who killed three children and a teacher at an Oregon elementary school on Thursday was shot dead by a hero bystander who chased him inside, police said.

The bystander sprang into action just minutes after police received their first report of a shooter with a long gun at Silver Rail Elementary School in the city of Bend, according to sources and police.

The first call placed to dispatchers indicated that a shot had been fired into a car near the school, police spokesperson Sheila Miller told reporters.

3 Police tape is placed outside Silver Rail Elementary school, where a shooting took place on Oct. 15, 2026, in Bend, Ore. AP Photo/Joe Kline

3 People walk near a cordoned-off area following a shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Ore. on Oct. 15, 2026, in this screengrab from a handout video. via REUTERS

After the initial shots, the gunman - identified as a 16-year-old resident of Bend - shot the locked doors of the school to bust inside and launch his rampage, Bend Police Department Chief Mike Krantz said in a press conference Thursday evening.

Moments later, the brave community member pursued the teen into the school building and shot him, Krantz told reporters.

The gunman was pronounced dead inside the school, police added.

Three kids - ages 5, 8 and 11 - and a teacher were gunned down by the teen, police said.

A 7-year-old child and a teacher, 54, were also hospitalized in critical condition, officials said.

Roughly 400 to 450 children attend the school, which was evacuated after the terrifying shooting.

3 An emergency worker holds up police tape at the scene of a shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Ore., on Oct. 15, 2026. REUTERS

Krantz was unable to answer whether the hero bystander had a permit to carry a concealed weapon, and said many factors of the shooting were still under investigation.

Bend La Pines school district previously banned all people, including those with concealed handling licences, from carrying firearms on district property, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported in 2022.

A separate provision of state law does
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