‘Politicians are the ones that can do something’: Former King County sheriff urges stronger prevention efforts after Bend school shooting

Three children and a teacher were killed when a 16-year-old shot his way through locked doors at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, on Oct. 15. Another child and teacher were critically injured, and a person who followed the gunman inside shot him, authorities said.

Speaking with “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio, former King County Sheriff John Urquhart called for faster police responses and stronger prevention efforts while describing the shooting’s impact on friends in Bend.

“As a police officer, I’ve handled dead kids before, and every police officer has one way or another,” Urquhart said. “You go in there, and you do your job. You have a job to do, and you put on that game face, and you do it. But when you’re away from it a bit, or when you get home and take your uniform off and really think about what’s going on, it hits you in a different way.”

Limits of school security

The first 911 call came from someone outside the school who reported being shot at. More calls followed from inside the building, and officers arrived within minutes, according to the Associated Press.

“The school was hardened. He shot his way in. How do you keep that from happening? That’s difficult,” Urquhart said. “I don’t know how we can prevent these types of shootings or any type of shooting. I don’t know how we can prevent that from happening. I just don’t have an answer.

“It’s outrageous. I certainly understand your emotion over all of this,” he added. “I’m emotional too. I don’t like it. And I did that job for 43 years.”

Reporting warning signs among prevention steps

Washington’s extreme risk protection order process allows a court to temporarily restrict someone’s access to firearms. Family members or law enforcement can seek an order when a person poses a risk of harming themselves or others.

“We don’t know what we don’t know. We don’t know what has been stopped because of these changes to gun laws,” Urquhart said.

The Washington Attorney General’s Office also identifies secure storage and temporarily storing firearms away from home as options when someone may be at risk of harming themselves or others.

“There were signals out there that people knew, somebody knew that something like this was going to happen, whether it was the parents or friends, schoolmates, whatever it was,” Urquhart said. “But they didn’t act on that, and that mindset has got to change. That kind of thing has to be reported. That’s one step that would help.”

Condolences and calls for action

One of Urquhart’s friends had a fifth grader at the school. Families went to a nearby church to reunite with students, according to his account.

“You don’t need to be a parent or have little kids to understand that kind of angst that had to have occurred,” Urquhart said.

The children killed were ages 5, 8 and 11. A 7-year-old child and a 54-year-old teacher were hospitalized in critical condition, according to the Associated Press.

“The thing that gets me worked up is politicians that get out there and say, ‘Our hopes and prayers, our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Bend, Oregon,’” Urquhart said. “That drives me up the wall because the politicians are the ones that can do something.”

Police staffing and emergency response

Bend police conducted a full day of active-shooter training in August, Urquhart said. His concerns about response times extended to staffing in Seattle and the King County Sheriff’s Office.

“They’ve got to increase the number of officers in the Seattle Police Department. Same thing for the sheriff’s office,” Urquhart said. “I fought tooth and nail with the county council and the King County executive to get more money for more hiring, for more police officers, because response time matters. If you don’t have good response time, people are going to die. It’s just that simple.”

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio.