Oregon law cleared mother's shotgun purchase after 2023 assault charges
Shauntai Nickerson bought the weapon used in the Silver Rail Elementary attack because her prior cases did not end in convictions.
By Ivan Dvorak ·
One week after four people died at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, records reveal how a 16-year-old obtained the lethal weapon. The firearm used in the shooting was a Mossberg Maverick 88 pump-action shotgun purchased by the boy's mother, Shauntai Nickerson, in August. Law enforcement officials confirmed that Nickerson legally bought the gun and registered it in her name. The model typically costs between $250 and $300, though officials have not identified the specific retailer.
Oregon statutes allow 16- and 17-year-olds to legally possess rifles and shotguns if a parent or guardian provides them. The state bars the sale of firearms to individuals convicted of violent misdemeanors, such as assault, within the preceding four years. Nickerson faced two assault accusations in 2023 before the purchase. Neither case resulted in an assault conviction, so the legal restriction did not block the transaction. Had she been convicted in either instance, the purchase would have been illegal.
Court documents detail the first incident, which occurred in January 2023. A Bend police report stated that Nickerson, then 40, and her daughter Ariel Swan, then 19, assaulted a woman outside a Taco Bell. The report alleged that Nickerson followed the victim in a white SUV, attempted to run her over, and then both women attacked her after exiting the vehicle. The pair told police the victim had slept with Nickerson's ex-boyfriend, a claim the victim denied. Swan was arrested and charged with harassment and attempted fourth-degree assault. Police reports noted that Nickerson charged at officers during the arrest but she was not formally charged.
Less than two months later, Nickerson faced a second set of charges involving a different woman in her early 40s. Court records indicated she caused physical injury but provided no further police report details. She pleaded guilty to harassment in October 2023. Two weeks later, Deschutes County District Attorney Steve Gunnels' office dismissed the assault charge. The office stated on October 23 that prosecutors believed there was insufficient evidence to secure a trial win. Tung Yin, a professor at Lewis & Clark Law School, suggested the outcome likely reflected a plea bargain to avoid a lengthy and costly trial. He noted that prosecutors exercise wide discretion in selecting cases.
The shooter was killed by a parent of two students at the school. Police have not discussed a motive, although Oregon Public Broadcasting reported that investigators are examining possible links to extremist groups. Court records describe the shooter's complex family history. His father, Griffin J. John, 47, has a felony conviction for assaulting a police officer and other misdemeanor charges, and he is currently homeless in Astoria. Nickerson was a victim of domestic violence; her then-boyfriend Kyle Duncan pleaded guilty to felony assault and coercion against her in 2014. Those convictions were vacated after he completed a deferred sentencing program.
Dr. Harold Schwartz, a psychiatry professor at the University of Connecticut who has studied school shooters, stated that many individuals share traits like isolation and anger without becoming violent. He identified the availability of the weapon as the single most significant differentiator. National Institute of Justice data indicate that 77% of mass shooters legally accessed their firearms, and more than 80% of school shooters took guns from family members. Some outlets reported the shotgun was a birthday gift, a detail the Oregon Journalism Project has not verified. Nickerson, Duncan, and Swan did not return calls seeking comment.
The legal framework that permitted the purchase remains unchanged as of this week. The specific statutory provision regarding the four-year window for violent misdemeanor convictions allowed the transaction to proceed because the 2023 accusations did not culminate in the requisite conviction. This procedural detail distinguishes the case from scenarios where a prior conviction would have triggered the ban on the sale.
