Oregon school shooting: Bend police identify 16-year-old special needs student as shooter; a probe is underway to find the motif

A day after four people were killed at an elementary school in Bend, Oregon, police have identified the shooter as 16-year-old Griffin J. John II.

Oregon school shooter identified: What we know so far

According to authorities, John was once a special needs student at Silver Rail Elementary, the same school where he killed three students and a 25-year-old teacher. Authorities added that he attacked a classroom full of special needs students.

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Citing City of Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz, the AP reported that the teenage shooter fired as many as 15 rounds from a 12-gauge shotgun and had about 44 rounds left when he was killed.

As investigators try to determine a motive for the shooting and how the 16-year-old obtained the shotgun, Krantz said, “Everybody wants to know why, including us,” adding, “We may never get the full answer, but we want it.

According to the report, the shotgun was purchased by the teenage shooter’s mother, identified as Shauntai Nickerson. She told reporters that if she could have done anything to prevent the incident, she would have. She said: “I’m so sorry, I wish I could do something. I’m sorry for their loss,” adding: “I miss my boy.” However, Nickerson did not say how her 16-year-old son obtained the pump-action shotgun.

After the latest shooting, Nickerson’s earlier interview with local news station KTVZ in 2020 also came to light. In it, she identified the boy, who was then 10 years old, as a participant in a special needs program called NEST, which stands for Nurturing Empathy, Safety and Trust. The goal of the program was to help students experiencing intense behavioral and social skills problems. Nickerson said he tried to learn from home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gunman killed minutes after first emergency call

According to Krantz, a man driving a red pickup called 911 early Thursday afternoon after seeing John throw a gun over the fence outside the school and climb over it. When the driver yelled at him, John opened fire, hitting the truck three times. The driver escaped injury.

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Another driver, identified as Kaylub Giamanco, 36, whose children attend Silver Rail School, witnessed the shooting aimed at the pickup truck and saw John moving toward the school. The 16-year-old then shot through the locked door and entered the building. Giamanco pulled into the parking lot, took out his .40 pistol and followed him inside. When he found John struggling with the teacher, Giamanco shot him several times.

Elementary school shooting in Oregon

On Thursday (local time), three children, aged 5, 8 and 11, and teacher Meghan Lambert, 25, were killed after John shot through a locked door and entered the school. A seven-year-old child was also injured and was treated at the scene and is now hospitalized, along with a 54-year-old teacher who was shot in the arm and hand.

Located in Bend, Oregon, more than 100 miles (160 kilometers) southeast of Portland, the school serves children from kindergarten through fifth grade. Oregon Department of Education data shows 459 students were enrolled last year.