Three children, a teacher and a suspected gunman are dead following a shooting Thursday at an Oregon elementary school, authorities said.

Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz speaks to reporters Thursday following a school shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School. Five people, including three students as well as the suspected shooter, were killed. Screen capture courtesy City of Bend/YouTube UPI

Oct. 15 (UPI) -- Three children, a teacher and a suspected gunman are dead following a shooting Thursday afternoon at an Oregon elementary school, authorities said.

Police identified the suspected shooter as a 16-year-old resident of Bend, a city of nearly 100,000 people in central Oregon, located about 130 miles east of Eugene.

Authorities said the shooting occurred at about 1 p.m. PDT at Silver Rail Elementary School.

The deceased victims have been identified only as children ages 5, 8, and 11, and a teacher. A 7-year-old student and a 54-year-old teacher were injured in the shooting and were transported to St. Charles Bend Medical Center with critical injuries, Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz told reporters during a press conference.

"This is a terrible tragedy and we are working hard to investigate this incident and get as much information as possible out to the public," Krantz said.

Dispatch received its first call about the incident at 12:59 p.m. from a person in a vehicle who said they had been shot at multiple times by a suspect with a long gun.

Dozens of calls followed, reporting that a shooter had entered the school, with the first responding officers arriving at the scene at 1:02 p.m., a minute after the school was directed to enter lockdown.

Moments after police arrived, an officer reported that the suspect had been shot by a community member who had witnessed the suspect enter the school and pursued the gunman.

Officers then entered the building and confirmed the suspect was dead, evacuated the facility and rendered emergency aid to those injured, Krantz said.

Including the shooter, five people were found dead at the scene, he said, adding that the families of the victims have been notified.

All students and staff evacuated from the school were transported to a local church used as a reunification site, authorities said.

"In August, every Bend police officer went through a full day of threat training at a local high school. And unfortunately, this is something we train for on a regular basis and we must," Krantz said.

The ensuing investigation will be lengthy, he said, adding that there will be a large police presence at the school for the next couple of days.

The website for Bend-La Pine Schools, the district that operates Silver Rail Elementary, states all schools will be closed Friday.

"This is something we never want to happen anywhere, but especially and particularly in our beautiful community here in Bend. There are not really any words that I can say to any of you that will make this better, but please know we are working hard to ensure we conduct a thorough investigation," Krantz said.

A preliminary investigation indicates the shooter gained access to the school by firing the long gun at locked doors, Krantz said, though he would not identify what specific weapon the suspect used nor how many shots were fired in the shooting.

It was also unknown at the time of the press conference what weapon was used by the member of the public who shot the suspected shooter or how many shots they had fired.

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, a progressive Democrat, thanked Silver Rail Elementary staff, parents and first responders who rushed to the scene. She also expressed gratitude toward the unidentified community member who engaged the suspected shooter, saying they "heroically intervened to save further loss of life."

"Your actions carry a heavy emotional burden and I just want you to know that my thoughts are with you as well," she said.

She said all Oregonians mourn the shooting.

"This is a horrible day. No parent should have to have this kind of day and no community should have to live through this kind of day. And as we learn more about the children and the adults who have been killed or injured and their families and their loved ones we are going to do a lot of crying and we are going to cry together and we're probably going to cry privately," she said.

"We must come together and support each other, neighbor to neighbor, Oregonian to Oregonian."