US Representative Maxine Dexter, a physician who represents a portion of Portland east of the Willamette River, called the shooting a “devastating day for Oregon”.
“Schools should be places of learning, friendship and joy. It is incumbent on me, and every lawmaker, to do everything we can to ensure our kids are safe,” she said in a statement.
“As we learn more about the tragic event at Silver Rail Elementary in Bend today, we must come together and support each other, neighbour to neighbour, Oregonian to Oregonian. No community should have to live through this day,” Governor Tina Kotek said separately on X.
FBI chief Kash Patel said on X that federal agents were on the scene “assisting our local partners in the investigation” and that his agency would “make every resource they need available”.
