AFT’s Weingarten, Teachers Unify’s Clements and OSEA’s Wofford respond to Bend, Ore., shooting

WASHINGTON-AFT President Randi Weingarten, Oregon School Employees Association President Sarah Wofford and Abbey Clements, executive director of Teachers Unify to End Gun Violence and a survivor of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, issued the following statement after three children and one teacher were killed on Thursday at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Ore. Another child and a classified educator were critically injured in the shooting.

"Schools should be the safest places in our communities. But over and over, they are turned into battlegrounds because our elected leaders will do nothing to tackle our nation's shameful gun violence epidemic.

"Today, we are grieving the loss of three children and one teacher who were shot and killed at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Ore. We are devastated and are praying for their families and the recovery of those injured. And we are grateful to the bystander for his heroic actions.

"But we are also angry. Students, families and educators should never have to live like this or accept as normal the hundreds of school shootings that have happened in the 27 years since Columbine or the 28 mass killings in this year alone.

"We can take action to protect our children and communities with secure firearms storage, which we know saves lives. This is why the AFT adopted a resolution to help engage school districts in educating communities on responsible gun ownership. And while Oregon is known for strict gun laws, there are more opportunities for tragedy without accountability at the federal level.

"We must elect leaders who will protect our communities and schools, making them the safe and welcoming places that children and parents deserve, not danger zones where students learn to hide before they learn to read."

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The AFT represents 1.875 million pre-K through 12th-grade teachers; paraprofessionals and other school-related personnel; higher education faculty and professional staff; federal, state and local government employees; nurses and healthcare workers; and early childhood educators.