The 16-year-old accused in the Silver Rail Elementary School shooting in Bend, Oregon, reportedly took several steps to reach his intended target: a former special-needucation classroom, according to law-enforcement sources who spoke with The Post on Friday.
Sources said John J. Griffin II threw a Maverick 88 12-gauge pump-action shotgun over a fence at the school at about 1 p.m. Thursday before climbing over himself.
Griffin then allegedly approached the main entrance, but two bystanders stopped him from getting inside, according to investigators.
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He reportedly continued to the rear of the building, where he fired at the back-door lock and forced his way into the school. The door had been secured as part of the school’s safety measures, sources said.
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After entering, Griffin allegedly went directly to his former special-needs classroom and opened fire. Three students, ages 5, 8 and 11, and a teacher were killed. A 7-year-old student who uses a wheelchair and a 54-year-old teacher were also injured. The attack ended when an armed witness with a concealed weapon shot Griffin, according to authorities.
The shotgun had reportedly been purchased legally by Griffin’s mother, Shauntai Nickerson, around the time of his birthday in August, sources said.
On Friday, reporters saw Nickerson on the porch of her second-story home, smoking and crying.
“I’m sorry … I miss him,” Nickerson reportedly said. She described her son as “a good boy, he really was.”
Nickerson did not comment on the reported purchase of the shotgun but said, “If I could have prevented this, I would have.”
Griffin’s history in special education had previously been noted in a 2020 KTVZ report, which included comments from his mother about the difficulties he faced with remote learning during the pandemic.
“I think it will be great for Griffin [to return to the classroom] because I am not certified teaching a special-needs student,” Nickerson told the outlet at the time.
