John J. Griffin, Bend, Oregon teen id as 16-year-old school shooter who killed 4 at Silver Rail Elementary School before killed by hero dad bystander. Teen shooter used shotgun his mom, Shauntai Nickerson bought him as 16th birthday gift just 2 months earlier.
A 16-year-old teen shooter who shot and killed 3 elementary school children and a teacher in Bend, Oregon has been identified as John J. Griffin.
Griffin, a local Bend, Oregon resident was armed with his mom’s pump action shotgun when he opened fire inside Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend on Thursday – killing three kids, the youngest being a 5-year-old, and a teacher, sources told the nypost and three senior law enforcement officials told NBC News.
16-year-old school shooter mom insists son was ‘good boy’
Hero father bystander who shot & killed 16 year old Bend, Oregon shooter identified
The shooter, 16, critically injured another student and teacher before being shot dead by a hero bystander, Kaylub Giamanco since identified as the father of two young girls attending the school.
Griffin is alleged to have shot a 7-year-old boy in a wheelchair along with shooting a second teacher. Both were critically injured and rushed to hospital. Their condition remains unknown.
The teen killer began firing after entering a special education class. It is unclear if it was specifically targeted or chosen at random. Follow up reports revealed the teen targeting the ‘special education’ class which he had previously attended years earlier.
16-year-old fired 15 rounds as teacher wrestled with shooter to save kids lives
Shooter uses 16th b’day gift to go shooting
Follow up reports revealed the 16-year-old shooter using a ‘pump action’ shotgun his mother, Shauntai Nickerson had purchased as a birthday gift during Thursday’s attack.
Griffin reportedly received the weapon used in the massacre as a birthday present from his own mother just two months earlier in August upon turning 16.
7-year-old girl shot in wheelchair fighting for her life
School shooter previously part of special education program
Of intrigue, a post on social media stated the shooter previously being featured in a local news story for special education with local news outlet, KTVZ.
Stated the post: ‘While looking into background on the Silver Rail shooting, I came across a 2020 KTVZ News story about a Bend parent named Shantae/Shauntai Nickerson and her then-10-year-old son Griffin. He was in the local NEST special education program for students with behavioral and social skill challenges. Some people are now circulating photos and noting the age, name, and location overlap with the 16 year-old identified by law-enforcement sources as John J. Griffin II.’
Police raided Griffin’s family home on Thursday night, seizing computers and other electronic devices. His parents were said to be cooperative the dailymail reported.
A motive for the shooting remains unclear, and authorities would not confirm on Thursday night whether the suspect knew anybody at the school. Follow up reports revealed the teen shooter previously being part of a special education class at the school years earlier.
Silver Rail Elementary in Bend, Oregon, which is more than 100 miles (160 kilometers) southeast of Portland, had 459 enrolled students as of last year, according to the Oregon Department of Education and a staff of 40. The school serves students in kindergarten through fifth grade.
