A five-year-old boy named Rhoam Summer died Thursday when shots rang out at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon. He is the first victim named after the shooting that killed three children and a teacher. The 16-year-old gunman also died at the scene.
Police got the first calls near 1 p.m. The shooter used a long gun to blast through locked doors and get inside. A bystander who saw it happen chased him into the building and fired the shots that stopped him. Officers arrived minutes later to a scene of dead and wounded.
Four people died from the attack itself. Two more, a seven-year-old and a 54-year-old teacher, went to the hospital fighting for their lives. A reunification center opened at Journey Church so families could find each other. Other schools nearby stayed locked down.
Rhoam was the age when kids still believe the world is safe. His death hit the community hard because he was so young. Details about his life stayed limited, but his name made the loss real for everyone following the news.
Investigators kept working through the night and into the next day. They needed the full timeline and any motive. The bystander who stopped the shooter has not been named.
Families of the dead and injured face days filled with pain. The town tries to hold them up while waiting for more facts. Rhoam Summer will be remembered as the little boy whose life ended
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