The suspect in the fatal attack on a Bend, Ore., elementary school is a 16-year-old who used a weapon registered to his mother, according to a law enforcement official granted anonymity to discuss details of the case.
The shooting on Thursday at Silver Rail Elementary School killed three children and a teacher; the suspect, John J. Griffin II, blasted his way into the school before the father of two students there shot him dead.
On Friday morning, Shauntai May Nickerson, the mother of the suspect, spoke briefly from the porch of her apartment.
“I’m sorry,” Ms. Nickerson said. “I miss him.” Crying, she added that her son had been “a good boy.”
In 2020, Ms. Nickerson spoke about her then-10-year-old son to NewsChannel 21, a local television station, saying that her child had special needs and was looking forward to returning to the classroom after the Covid-19 pandemic.
The gun used in the attack was a Maverick 88, a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun, the official said. Investigators believe it belonged to Ms. Nickerson, the official said.
“If I could have prevented this, I would have,” Ms. Nickerson said on Friday.
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