Bend School Shooter's Mother Bought Shotgun After 2023 Assault Charges Dismissed

Four people died in a mass shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, a tragedy that has prompted scrutiny of how a 16-year-old student obtained a loaded shotgun. Law enforcement records indicate the Mossberg Maverick 88 pump-action firearm belonged to the shooter's mother, Shauntai Nickerson. The weapon, which typically sells for $250 to $300, was legally purchased by Nickerson in August.

Nickerson faced two separate assault accusations in 2023 before buying the gun. Under Oregon statute, a person convicted of a violent misdemeanor, such as assault, cannot purchase a firearm for four years following the conviction. Because neither of the 2023 cases resulted in an assault conviction, the legal restriction did not prevent the sale. Officials stated that a conviction in either incident would have made the purchase illegal.

The first incident occurred in January 2023. A Bend police report details an altercation outside a Taco Bell where Nickerson, then 40, and her 19-year-old daughter, Ariel Swan, attacked a woman. The report states Nickerson followed the victim in a white SUV, attempted to run her over, and yelled obscenities. Swan was charged with harassment and attempted fourth-degree assault, while Nickerson was described as charging at officers but was neither arrested nor charged.

In a second, unrelated case less than two months later, Nickerson was charged with assault and harassment involving a woman in her early 40s. Court records note she caused physical injury but provide no further police details. She pleaded guilty to harassment in October 2023. Two weeks later, the office of Deschutes County District Attorney Steve Gunnels dismissed the assault charge. In a statement released on October 23, 2026, the office said the prosecutor believed there was insufficient evidence to win at trial.

Tung Yin, a professor at Lewis & Clark Law School, suggested the outcome likely reflected a plea bargain. He noted that prosecutors exercise wide discretion in selecting which cases to pursue. Yin said, "There are so many crimes that people commit, prosecutors just can't charge them all, so they have to pick and choose."

Investigators have not publicly discussed a motive, though Oregon Public Broadcasting reported they are examining links to extremist groups. The shooter was killed by a parent of two students at the school. Court records describe a chaotic family history, including the shooter's father, Griffin J. John, who has a felony conviction for assaulting a police officer and is homeless in Astoria. Dr. Harold Schwartz, a University of Connecticut psychiatry professor, said the availability of the weapon is a key factor in school shootings. National Institute of Justice data show 77% of mass shooters legally accessed their firearms.