Bend Shooter's Mother Bought Shotgun After 2023 Assault Charge Was Dropped
Oregon law requires a conviction within four years to block a purchase, a threshold the 16-year-old's mother met despite two prior accusations.
By David Almasi ·
Shauntai Nickerson legally purchased a Mossberg Maverick 88 shotgun in August, four months after a prosecutor dropped an assault charge against her. The firearm, which typically costs between $250 and $300, was registered to her name and was later used by her 16-year-old son in the Silver Rail Elementary School shooting that killed four people.
Oregon law prevents the sale of a firearm to anyone convicted of a violent misdemeanor, such as assault, within the preceding four years. Because neither of the 2023 accusations against Nickerson resulted in a conviction, the statutory restriction did not apply to the August purchase. Officials have not disclosed the specific location where she bought the weapon. State regulations allow 16- and 17-year-olds to possess rifles and shotguns if a parent or guardian provides the firearm.
The first incident occurred in January 2023. A Bend police report states that Nickerson, then 40, and her 19-year-old daughter, Ariel Swan, assaulted a woman outside a Taco Bell. The report details that Nickerson followed the victim in a white SUV, attempted to run her over, and later engaged in a physical altercation. Swan was charged with harassment and attempted fourth-degree assault. Nickerson was not arrested or charged in that case, though police noted she charged at officers during the daughter's arrest.
In a second, unrelated case, Nickerson faced assault and harassment charges against a woman in her early 40s. Court records indicate she caused physical injury but provide no further police report details. She pleaded guilty to harassment in October 2023. Two weeks later, Deschutes County District Attorney Steve Gunnels dismissed the assault charge. The office stated on October 23 that the prosecutor believed there was insufficient evidence to secure a conviction at trial.
Tung Yin, a professor at Lewis & Clark Law School, said the dismissal likely reflected a plea bargain designed to avoid the cost and unpredictability of a trial. He noted that prosecutors exercise wide discretion in deciding which cases to pursue. "There are so many crimes that people commit, prosecutors just can't charge them all, so they have to pick and choose," Yin said.
Police have not discussed a motive for the shooting, though Oregon Public Broadcasting reported that investigators are examining links to extremist groups. The shooter was killed by a parent of two students. Court records describe a history of family legal issues, including a felony assault conviction for the shooter's father, Griffin J. John, who is currently homeless in Astoria. Nickerson was also a victim of domestic violence in 2014, though the convictions against her then-boyfriend were later vacated.
Dr. Harold Schwartz, a psychiatry professor at the University of Connecticut, said that while many people share traits like isolation, the availability of a weapon is a primary differentiator in school shootings. National Institute of Justice data show that 77% of mass shooters legally accessed their firearms, and more than 80% of school shooters took guns from family members. Nickerson, her ex-boyfriend Kyle Duncan, and her daughter Swan did not return calls seeking comment.
