Weapon used in Oregon elementary school shooting was birthday gift from shooter’s mother, sources say

The weapon used by a 16-year-old shot and killed three children and a teacher at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, last week was a birthday present from the shooter’s mother, sources told CBS News.

The 12-gauge Maverick 88 shotgun was legally purchased in August 2026 by Shauntai Nickerson, the mother of Griffin J. John II, and given to her for recreational use, the sources said.

In 2020, Nickerson told a local TV station that her son, who was 10 at the time, had special needs and struggled with remote learning during the pandemic. She told KTVZ, “It will be great for my son to get back out there and get the help he needs from the qualified teachers he needs.”

The gunman first fired at a passing van, whose driver had made the initial 911 call, before forcing his way into the school by firing through the windows of a double door, police said last week. He then went to the first classroom to the left of these doors, where he killed the four victims and injured two others.

The children killed in the shooting were ages 5, 8 and 11, police said. The slain teacher was identified as 25-year-old Megan Lambert. The victim, aged 5 was identified by police and his family under the name Rhoam Summer. The families of the other two children have not released their names publicly, Bend police said.

The two injured victims are a 7-year-old girl and a 54-year-old teacher.

Police said Monday that there were a total of nine people — four adults and five children — in the class at the time.

The shooter was shot and killed by a passerby, 36 years old Kaylub Giamancowho saw the first shooting with the van and followed the shooter to the school. Giamanco is a Bend resident and has two daughters who attend Silver Rail Elementary School.

The suspect was a former student at Silver Rail Elementary School, police said. No motive for the attack was provided.

The Bend Police Department said Monday it plans to finish collecting evidence at the school by the end of the day and then return the building to the school district.

Law enforcement sources previously told CBS News that investigators were examining the attacker’s computer, phone, social media, search history and other online activities.