​​Shotgun used in Oregon Elementary school shooting was a birthday gift from suspect’s mother, sources say

The firearm utilized by the 16-year-old gunman who killed three children and a teacher at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, was a birthday gift from his mother, according to sources cited by CBS News.

​The Maverick 88 pump-action 12-gauge shotgun was legally purchased in August 2026 by Shauntai Nickerson, the mother of the suspect, Griffin J. John II, ostensibly for recreational use. Investigators revealed that the former student began his attack by firing at a passing pickup truck before shattering the glass panes of double doors to enter the school building. He targeted the first classroom on the left, killing 25-year-old teacher Megan Lambert alongside three children aged 5, 8, and 11, and wounding two others.

​The rampage ended when an armed bystander, 36-year-old father Kaylub Giamanco, followed the shooter inside and fatally neutralized him. Local police and federal investigators are currently analyzing the suspect’s digital footprint, devices, and online activity to determine a motive, while law enforcement prepares to return the school building to district authorities following evidence collection.