Teen kills three children and teacher in shooting at Oregon primary school; gunman shot dead

A 16-year-old boy opened fire indiscriminately at his own former primary school in Bend, Oregon, in the United States. Three young children and a young teacher were killed on the spot. The weapon used had been given to the boy by his mother as a birthday gift.

According to local police, the boy's mother legally bought a Maverick 88 pump-action 12-gauge shotgun in August 2026 and gave it to her 16-year-old son on his birthday. Questions are now being raised about how a minor got hold of such a dangerous weapon.

Last Thursday, the accused targeted Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, where he had himself been a student. He reached the school area with the shotgun and first fired at a pickup truck passing outside. The truck's driver immediately called 911 to alert the police.

Before police arrived, the accused shot at the school's locked glass doors to force his way in. He entered the first classroom, immediately to the left of the main door, and began firing at the children and teachers in front of him. Four people were killed on the spot and two were seriously injured.

Of the three children killed, one was 5 years old, another 8 and the third 11. Megan Lambert, a 25-year-old teacher, also died. She is said to have stepped forward to protect her students. Among the injured are a 7-year-old girl and a 54-year-old teacher, who are being treated in hospital.

Caleb Giamanco, a 36-year-old local resident, showed great courage. His two young daughters study at the school. He saw the accused firing at the truck and outside the school, and followed him into the building. Inside, a teacher was struggling with the accused to wrest the shotgun away. Giamanco reached the spot and fired at the accused with a weapon he had with him, killing him. It is being said that this saved the lives of hundreds of other children at the school.

Giamanco's courage is being widely praised, but the children who died cannot be brought back, and a mood of grief has settled over the whole city. Local police and investigating agencies are examining the case closely and trying to establish why the accused did it.

The distraught parents of one of the children killed have decided to take legal action. They have hired lawyers to look into the school's safety rules and into how the 16-year-old got a weapon from his mother so easily. Lax gun laws in the United States allow anyone to buy a lethal weapon easily. After this incident of parents putting guns in their children's hands, demands for an immediate tightening of gun laws are gathering strength across the country.