A teenager armed with a rifle shot and killed a 14-year-old student in Reynolds High School, Oregon on Tuesday.
The incident happened at around 8am (11 a.m. ET) in Troutdale, suburban Portland, Oregon. The gunman--whose name has not yet been revealed by authorities--reportedly entered the school gymnasium and started firing shots.
The victim who was killed has been identified as Emilio Hoffman, a freshman. Troutdale Police Department Chief Scott Anderson said that he was found in the boys' locker room.
Hoffman was "loved by all," said Anderson. He also reportedly did not have enemies and didn't provoke trouble. "They wouldn't have just picked him ... It had to be, just, random," said Savannah Venegas, Hoffman's friend.
A teacher was also slightly injured by the suspect. "When I got into the room and I saw one of the teachers had a wound, I knew this was not a joke, it was real ... He was definitely bleeding ... [But] he was really strong for somebody who had a wound, he was kind of walking it off," said Jacob Saldaña, a junior.
After the shooting, police used a camera robot to check what was happening inside. The camera found the suspected gunman slumped in a toilet, looking like he killed himself. Reports say that it is now being investigated whether he was killed in the exchange of gunfire with police, or if he took his own life.
The gunman's motive remains a mystery.
This incident will surely spark more debates about Oregon's gun control laws--legislators have fought about the issue over the last two years, after the mass shootings in Newton and and the Clackamas Tower Center in Portland.
"I want to do something that is effective," said House Judiciary Chairman Jeff Barker. "For most of the people involved in these shootings, a background check wouldn't keep them from doing what they did."
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