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

Updated on: October 19, 2026 / 7:35 PM EDT / CBS News

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

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

In 2020, Nickerson told a local television station that her son, who was 10 years old at the time, had special needs and was struggling with remote learning during the pandemic. She told KTVZ, "It'll be great for my son to get back in there and get the help that he needs with the skilled teachers that he needs to get it from."

The shooter initially fired at a passing pickup truck, whose driver made the initial 911 call, before forcing his way into the school by shooting through the glass panes of a set of double doors, police said last week. He then went into the first classroom to the left of those doors, where he killed all…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/entertainment/