Shauntai May Nickerson has broken her silence after her 16-year-old son carried out a deadly school shooting in Oregon.
Nickerson, the mother of Griffin J. John II, spoke after her son killed three children and one teacher at Silver Rail Elementary in Bend on Thursday, October 15. Griffin, a former student at the school, was himself fatally shot during the attack by a parent who intervened.
“If I could have prevented this, I would have,” Nickerson told the newspaper. She was seen smoking a cigarette as she apologized and admitted she missed her son.
Nickerson insisted her son was not a violent person by nature. “A good boy, he really was,” she said.
The shooting unfolded after Griffin hopped a fence and fired at a man before forcing his way through a side entrance of the elementary school. He entered a special needs classroom where four children and three teachers were present. Three children, ages 5, 8, and 11, were killed. A fourth child, a 7-year-old girl, survived but was listed in serious but stable condition.
Teacher Megan Lambert, 25, died in the attack. Another teacher was seriously wounded, while a third educator escaped injury after allegedly throwing a phone at the shooter to slow him down. Police said Griffin used a pump-action shotgun belonging to his mother and fired approximately 15 rounds, with 44 more shells found in his backpack.
The rampage ended when Kaylub Giamanco, a father of two students at Silver Rail Elementary, chased down and fatally shot the teen. Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz praised Giamanco’s actions at a Friday news conference.
“I don’t think we can underestimate or underappreciate that courage — when someone is willing to risk their own life for others,” Krantz said.
The chief also thanked the teachers who tried to fend Griffin off. “To the people who showed courage in the face of such violence, and intervened to prevent this tragedy from being any worse, we owe you a debt of gratitude,” he continued.
Nickerson had previously spoken publicly about Griffin’s struggles during the pandemic. In a 2020 interview with KTVZ, when her son was 10, she described the challenges of remote learning for a child with special needs.
“I think it will be great for Griffin, because I am not certified teaching a special needs student,” Nickerson said at the time. “And I think it will be great for my son to get the help that he needs from the skilled teachers that he needs to get it from.”
What drove Griffin to target the school where he once received special education services remains unknown. Chief Krantz addressed the lingering question directly at his Friday briefing.
“Everyone wants to know why, including us,” he said. “I think that’s one of the most challenging parts of these types of investigations is determining the why and the motives.”
The Bend community continues to grapple with the aftermath of the violence that claimed four lives and left a young girl fighting to recover.