Photo by Jackson Emery on Unsplash
Last week’s shootings in Bend, Ore. are a reminder that safe storage of firearms, in the home and in cars, saves lives. Law enforcement has indicated that the 16-year-old shooter used a shotgun belonging to his mother to kill three children and a teacher. When the shooter was fatally shot by another child’s parent, he had 44 rounds of ammunition remaining.
The shooter’s mother has so far not been charged with anything in the case. Oregon has a safe storage law, but experts told CNN that in order to prosecute, authorities will need evidence that the mother knew the boy was in a ‘vulnerable state’ and allowed him to access the gun anyway. The boy was a former student at the school, enrolled in classes described as serving children with “intensive behavioral and social skills challenges.”
The case is reminiscent of the Evergreen shootings in 2025, after which Jefferson County authorities said they were unable to gather sufficient evidence to charge the shooter’s parents.