Dr. Steven Cook, Bend-La Pine Schools Superintendent Reflects on Silver Rail Elementary School Shooting

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- In his first sit down interview since the Silver Rail Elementary School shooting, Dr. Steven Cook spoke with KTVZ's Claire Elmer about the tragedy and the district's priorities moving forward.

Claire Elmer: We have parents asking; how do I send my kid to public school? How do I do that? How do I send them into a place where they should be safe every day - knowing that almost everything that could have prevented this from happening and was in place, and it still wasn't enough. What would you say to those families?

Dr. Steven Cook: There's no easy answer to that question. I would tell you that this is not only limited to public schools. Unfortunately, these kinds of things happen in sites all over the country and I do believe that our efforts in our schools, in our sites, have made a difference. I do believe that the heroic actions of the very first 911 caller of the father who followed that suspect into the building and or the the teacher that fought back all made a difference. I believe they all contributed to the saving of lives. There's nothing I can say that will appease the families that lost loved ones in this event. Except that we are sorry and to convey that I don't think this is a public school issue. I think this is a community-wide, country-wide, this is an issue for all of us to hold in both our hearts and our heads about what we want to do to ensure that every one of our children in our community is safe at all times.

KTVZ News will post the entire interview on our digital platforms following KTVZ News at 6 pm.