Bend School Shooting Investigation Focuses on Online Extremist Links and Weapon Access
Federal and state investigators are probing the 16-year-old shooter’s ties to online violent extremist groups, specifically the decentralized network '764,' while confirming the weapon was a legally purchased birthday gift from his mother. The attack at Silver Rail Elementary in Bend, Oregon, killed four people, including five-year-old Rhoam Summer, the youngest victim in a U.S. school shooting since 1966. A bystander fatally shot the suspect, and the case highlights growing concerns about online radicalization and gun access among youth.