CBS News reported that Shauntai Nickerson gave her 16-year-old son a shotgun for his birthday before he killed four people at an Oregon elementary school, as attorneys examine how he got the weapon.
Nickerson legally bought the Maverick 88 pump-action 12-gauge shotgun in August 2026 and gave it to Griffin J. John II for recreation, CBS News reported, citing sources.
John killed three children and a teacher in the Oct. 15 attack at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, police said. Those killed included Rhoam Summer, 5, and teacher Megan Lambert, 25. The other children were 8 and 11. A 7-year-old girl and a 54-year-old teacher were wounded.
Police said John fired at a passing pickup truck before shooting through the school’s locked glass entrance doors. He entered the first classroom to the left, where nine people were present: five children and four adults.
Kaylub Giamanco, 36, whose two daughters attended the school, saw the shots fired at the truck and followed John inside. Giamanco fatally shot the teenager as a teacher fought to control the shotgun.
NDTV reported that the parents of one child killed had hired attorneys to examine the school’s security practices and how John obtained the weapon. Bend police are investigating his motive.
