Image source, Reuters

Police Chief Mike Krantz is the first to speak. He starts by providing a recap of the shooting yesterday, calling it a "terrible day for our community".

He thanks first responders, those that intervened to stop the shooter, and the community for its outpouring of support.

"Many of you are asking hard questions, and some of you are angry, scared, and simply exhausted. Those are all valid feelings," he says.

He adds that the police department is working to answer the community's questions and conduct a thorough investigation.

"To the people who showed courage in the face of such violence, and intervened to prevent this tragedy from being any worse, we owe you a debt of gratitude."

Officials are holding a news conference about the deadly school shooting in Bend, Oregon.

We're expecting to hear updates from Bend Police Department chief Mike Krantz, Bend-La Pine Schools superintendent Steven Cook, Deschutes County Health Services director Holly Harris, and Bend Police Department's communications manager Sheila Miller.

You can watch live at the top of this page, and we'll be bringing you the latest updates.

Image source, AFP

Brooke Olsen's daughter is a pupil at Silver Rail Elementary School and was attending yesterday when the shooting took place.

"We're profoundly grateful that my daughter is home and safe with us," she tells the AFP news agency, adding that yesterday "didn't feel real" and "was extremely painful".

"My thoughts are what happens now, and what can we do within our control to keep kids safer than ever before?"

We have learned more about yesterday's fatal school shooting as the day has gone on. But there are a few details yet to be disclosed.

• The victims have not been publicly identified by local officials
• The current condition of the child and teacher taken to hospital
• The motive of the alleged shooter and what ties, if any, he had to the school
• How the shooter got hold of the weapons which allegedly belong to his mother

The Bend Police Department is expected to hold a news conference within the next hour. We'll bring you the latest updates from that.

Ten-year-old Aizen was in class during the shooting but says he and his classmates didn't immediately understand what was going on.

"We didn't really take it in as a gunshot and then maybe 10 to 20 seconds later we heard more gunshots," he has told Good Morning America.

"And that time we definitely knew it was a gunshot."

He says he locked the classroom door and then hid behind the lockers with his classmates. "People were crying and it was really hard," he says.

His mother, Soraya Sharp, adds: "I can only say it’s not the worst day of my life because I got to see his (Aizen’s) face, but not everybody got to see their loved ones."

Image source, Reuters

The shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, where five people, including three children, a teacher and the suspect were killed, has prompted an outpouring of grief and praise for the man who intervened. If you're just joining us, here are the latest developments:

• The suspected shooter has been identified as 16-year-old Bend resident John Griffin, the BBC's US partner CBS News reports, citing law enforcement sources
• The bystander who stepped in to stop the shooting has also been named by his family as Kaylub Giamanco, a "lifelong resident of Bend" with two daughters who attend Silver Rail Elementary
• Giamanco, who shot and killed the suspect after entering the school, was praised by Donald Trump as a "great hero", adding the situation could have been "much worse" without his intervention
• Elsewhere, the elementary school where the shooting took place remains cordoned off this morning, while a steady stream of people have visited the scene to lay flowers

• The incident has prompted responses from both sides of the debate around gun control. Organisations advocating for tighter legislation have demanded action, while opposing groups claimed such measures won't prevent more tragedy

We are expecting to hear from authorities in relation to the shooting later today and will be bringing you the latest updates, so stick with us.

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

Kayla Major's son is a student at Silver Rail Elementary School. She was working in her office which is within walking distance of the school, when the shooting took place.

One of her co-workers said she heard gunshots and employees started locking the doors, Kayla tells CBS News.

When she asked where the shooting was happening, a colleague said: "The school behind us."

"I don't know if my co-workers understood that I had a child that went to school there, and so I kind of fell back into my seat for a second, and then paced for a minute, and I stood up and I unlocked the doors and I just started running over to the school," Kayla says.

She adds her son was uninjured and didn't really understand what was going on at the time, but her and her husband later "talked to him about that".

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) says its agents remain at the scene of the shooting after self-deploying yesterday.

In a statement to the BBC, the bureau says that officers "from both our Eugene and Portland Field Offices self-initiated a response to Silver Rail Elementary School after learning of an active shooter incident".

The bureau has provided "urgent tracing of the suspect's firearm", the statement continues, adding that Bend PD will remain the "primary investigating agency".

Our partners at CBS News have just received a statement from the family of the bystander who stepped in to stop the shooting.

The family identify him as Kaylub Giamanco, a "lifelong resident of Bend". They also confirm he has two daughters who attend Silver Rail Elementary School.

They say he "is not seeking recognition" but rather wants to express his "gratitude to the first responders, school personnel, and community for the outpouring of love and support".

Giamanco and his family now "respectfully ask for privacy", they add.

Image source, Reuters

In the last few minutes, US President Donald Trump has praised the community member who intervened to stop the shooting as a "great hero".

Addressing reporters at the White House before departing for Georgia, Trump says the situation could have been "much worse" with no intervention.

"As bad as it was, we had a great hero that went in and did the business," he adds.

"It's a terrible thing, but thank goodness for a man that had a gun and knew how to use it."

As we've just reported, the BBC's US partner CBS News has identified the suspect as John Griffin, a 16-year-old resident of Bend, the city where the shooting took place yesterday.

Law enforcement sources told CBS that the gun used was purchased by his mother.

It's still unclear if Griffin had a connection to the school, but sources said investigators are combing through his social media accounts, phone and online search history to find out more, including whether he had an obsession with violence.

Police have still not publicly named Griffin, but they said in a news conference yesterday that the suspect was a 16-year-old teenage male.

A community member "pursued him into the school" and shot him dead, Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz said.

The suspected attacker has been identified as 16-year-old Bend resident John Griffin, the BBC's US partner CBS News reports, citing law enforcement sources.

In our previous post, we brought you comments from some organisations calling for greater gun control in the US. But we've also heard from other groups who oppose such measures.

"Yesterday's terrible act of violence in Oregon serves as another reminder of the importance of a law-abiding armed citizenry," the National Rifle Association says in a statement.

They point to reports that an armed bystander helped stop the attacker preventing further casualties

"It was a member of the community with a firearm who intervened and stopped the shooter before he could do more harm."

The Gun Owners of America also mention the bystander's actions in the hours after the shooting was first reported.

"All the gun control in Oregon didn’t stop today’s tragedy, and more gun control won’t help prevent another," it said in a statement.

"What does work (and what saved lives today) is armed citizens practicing self-defense."

The shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School has led to renewed calls for political action by groups that advocate for greater controls on guns in the US.

"Four families got the worst news of their lives tonight, and the entire community will carry this day with them forever," the group March For Our Lives says in a statement.

The organisation was formed by survivors of the 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Florida, where 17 people were killed.

"Sorrow alone cannot be our response. We demand action, and we will not stop until the killing ends," it adds.

The national organisation Everytown for Gun Safety says the country's "inaction" on gun control "has turned our children’s schools into battlefields".

The group advocates for stronger background checks on all gun sales and legislation including barring those convicted of hate crimes from owning guns.

Irvin Ornelas says he witnessed the suspected shooter heading towards Silver Rail Elementary School as he was driving, before the shooting took place.

"I saw him throw his gun over and him jump over the fence very quickly," he tells CBS News, the BBC's US partner network.

Ornelas's 10-year-old brother is a student at the school and is now safe, but says he was thinking about him "the entire time".

We're getting our first pictures from the scene in Bend, Oregon, where it has just gone 09:00 local time.

A police cordon is still in place around the Silver Rail Elementary School, while several floral tributes have been laid just inside the grounds.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

Image source, Reuters

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

Two politicians running for Oregon seats in next month's midterms have announced they're temporarily suspending their campaigns after the shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School.

Incumbent Congresswoman Janelle Bynum, who represents the 5th District which includes parts of Bend, says she's halting her campaign to focus on "supporting and being with the community as it responds to this tragedy".

Deschutes County Commissioner Patti Adair says she's pausing her campaign "to focus on comforting and supporting our community". Adair is the Republican candidate for the 5th District.

How common are US school shootings?published at 17:04 BST 16 October

17:04 BST 16 October

By Jake Horton

Shooting incidents at US schools have become more common over the last 15 years, according to the K-12 School Shootings database.

It records every time a gun is fired or pointed in a school. In 2010, it recorded 15 incidents but in recent years there have been hundreds.

The number of incidents peaked in 2023 at 352 - and so far this year there have been 149.

These figures include gun incidents at schools in which people were not killed or injured, but the Everytown for Gun Safety group has cross-checked the database with media reports and says this year incidents have resulted in 33 deaths and 63 injuries as of 15 October.

School shooting trends are broadly in line with figures on mass shootings across the US which have increased over the last decade but fallen in recent years, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

Image source, Reuters

As well as local politicians, tributes and sympathies have been pouring in from across the country after a primary school shooting left four people dead and two in a critical condition.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who is a member of the Democratic Party, said he was "absolutely devastated" by the shooting. "Gun violence is a stain on our nation. We must come together to stop it," he added.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon, a Republican, said she was "heartbroken" by the attack. She added: "We are grateful to the brave first responders who rushed to protect students and staff and the Good Samaritan whose heroic actions helped prevent further tragedy."

Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, from the Democratic Party, said in a statement which he filmed with former Rep Gabby Giffords that "these mass shootings, and shooting in elementary schools, are just like the worst thing that happens in our country".

In a statement through the Oregon House Republicans Caucas account on X, Rep Breese Iverson said "the senseless violence against our children today is heartbreaking", adding that she is grateful to "every first responder who stepped in with urgency to protect our community".