BEND, Oregon — Classes resumed on Wednesday, October 21, at most Bend-La Pine schools for the first time since the October 15 shooting at Silver Rail Elementary, while Silver Rail itself remains closed indefinitely, the Portland Focal and NPR reporting said.

Source: The Portland Focal

Bend Police said a 16-year-old former student attacked a special-education classroom at Silver Rail on October 15, killing three children — ages 5, 8 and 11 — and teacher Megan Lambert, 25, and wounding a 7-year-old student and a 54-year-old teacher. Awaaz Punjab does not name child victims or the teenage attacker. Police said a parent of two Silver Rail students who was nearby intervened and shot the attacker, who died at the school. No motive has been released.

Extra counsellors and police as schools reopen

The district arranged additional counsellors and a visible police presence as schools reopened, with an early-release day on Wednesday. Bend police spokesperson Sheila Miller said an officer would be at every school at the start and end of each day this week, the Focal reported. NPR reported the same reopening plan and that Silver Rail remains closed until further notice.

Source: NPR / WBUR via WCMU

Not every family was ready. Kristan Banks, whose 10-year-old daughter attends a district charter school, told the Focal her family would keep her home until security changes are made, saying: “I'm not going to participate in normalizing these events.”

Petition and a family's legal inquiry

A petition launched by Silver Rail parent Trey Heiss had drawn more than 1,500 signatures by Tuesday night. It calls for school resource officers at each of the district's roughly 30 schools, routine security reviews, a parent-led safety committee and support for students facing mental-health challenges, and Heiss hopes it will be addressed at the school board's next meeting on November 10.

Separately, the family of one of the children killed hired three law firms on October 20 to investigate whether systemic failures contributed to the attack; no findings have been announced and no specific institutional failure has been established. The office of Representative Janelle Bynum lists a free community support and healing gathering in Bend on October 21 and a postal address for cards and letters of support for Silver Rail students and staff.

Source: Rep. Janelle Bynum — Silver Rail Tragedy Resources