On Saturday, the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office hosted a concealed carry course that drew about 45 attendees. Law enforcement officials said interest in the classes has risen significantly since the Oct. 15 shooting. Among those who already held a concealed carry permit was Kaylub Giamanco, the Silver Rail parent who shot and killed the teenage gunman after the attacker entered the school with a shotgun.

Across town at Antioch Church, the nonprofit Guns to Gardens PNW held a gun takeback event. Residents turned in dozens of firearms, which volunteers then dismantled and reforged into garden tools — a symbolic conversion of weapons into instruments of growth.

The two gatherings underscored the fault lines running through this central Oregon city of roughly 100,000 as it confronts the aftermath of a school shooting that left four dead and a community searching for answers. For some, the answer is more armed, trained residents. For others, it is fewer guns in circulation.

The shooting has also intensified scrutiny of school safety. At a Bend-La Pine Schools board meeting earlier this month, district officials told parents pushing for new security measures that they lack the funding to implement them. The district has been weighing security upgrades while families press for more resources.

Silver Rail Elementary reopened Nov. 12, nearly a month after the attack. In the days before students returned, families toured the building, where a mural now covers a temporary wall blocking off the special education classroom where the shooting occurred. Community members tied hand-sewn hearts to a fence and wrote encouraging messages on the sidewalk. Students made bouquets for their teachers.

The weekend events reflected a community still raw and divided over how to prevent the next tragedy — and how to heal from this one.