John J. Griffin’s mother, Shauntai May Nickerson, spoke with a local news station in 2020 about her son’s return to the classroom after COVID-19 restrictions were lifted.
Nickerson told NewsChannel 21 that her 10-year-old son, Griffin, had special needs and was struggling with remote learning.
“I think it will be great for Griffin, because I am not certified teaching a special needs student,” Nickerson said.
“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.”
When reporters approached Nickerson outside her apartment on Friday, she told them, “I’m sorry,” The New York Times reported.
Nickerson added, “I miss him,” and described her son as “a good boy; he really was.”
“If I could have prevented this, I would have,” she said.
Police have said Griffin used a pump-action shotgun purchased by his mother to kill three children and a teacher inside a special education classroom at his former school, Silver Rail Elementary, on Thursday.
