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Three children and a teacher were killed by a 16-year-old school shooter in Bend, Oregon on Thursday.
A sheriff's deputy walks outside Silver Rail Elementary school, where a shooting took place, on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026 in Bend, Ore. (AP Photo/Joe Kline)JOE KLINE
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Once again, tragedy struck at a school in the United States. On Thursday, a 16-year-old opened fire at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon. The shooter killed four people: three students and a teacher. The children were aged 5, 8, and 11. The teacher was 54.
As time passes, more details about what happened have been coming out. The shooter has been identified as Griffin J. John II, who was a special needs student at the school. The room he attacked was one with special needs students.
According to City of Bend Police Chiefs Mike Krantz, John used a 12-gauge shotgun to fire as many as 15 shots before he was brought down by a teacher and then shot by a father. The gun, according to a law enforcement official who spoke to The Associated Press, was purchased by John's mother, Shauntai Nickerson.
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But when asked by the AP and other media outlets how her son obtained the shotgun, Nickerson declined to answer. That came after she had stated, "I miss my boy. I'm so sorry, I wish I could have done something. I'm sorry for their loss."
Many people on social media are now hoping the mother suffers consequences, despite not knowing if she willingly gave her son the gun, or if he stole it without permission.