Teacher says she thought she was ‘going to die saving my kids’ in deadly elementary school shooting

BEND, Ore. (KPTV/Gray News) — A teacher at Silver Rail Elementary School in Oregon said she was prepared to die to save her students during a mass shooting that left multiple people dead.

From her classroom window, Kathy Smith said she witnessed the 16-year-old shooter walking into the elementary school with a long gun.

“I just figured today, OK, today is the day that I’m sure every teacher at the school thought, today is the day that I’m going to die saving my kids,” Smith said.

Smith said she immediately called the main office to warn them an active shooter was on school grounds, then hid her students in a corner, hoping the shooter wouldn’t come inside.

“They were so afraid, the looks on their faces, it was really hard to see. I was just trying to calm them down. Some kids were praying, some kids were consoling other kids, but they were doing it quietly because they know you don’t make any noise,” she said.

Bend police said the shooter shot at a person in a vehicle before forcing his way into the school by shooting at locked doors.

The shooting killed a 5-year-old, an 8-year-old, an 11-year-old and one teacher. Another child and a teacher were wounded and taken to a hospital in critical condition.

The 16-year-old shooter was killed by a bystander who police said followed the gunman into the building.

Smith said that person saved countless lives, including her own.

“That person saw something, they did something, and that took its own courage,” Smith said.

Smith said the tragedy is constantly replaying in her head, and she can’t imagine how the close-knit school family will ever be the same.

“I don’t see how, but also in my head I refuse to let somebody tear apart our family even more, because if we don’t return and if we don’t come together, then that person wins,” she said.