The 16-year-old boy who killed three children and a teacher, injuring two other people, at a school in Bend, Oregon, was assaulted twice in recent years, once while he was trying to defend his mother, police records show.
asserted
records → kill → mother
In one incident, he told his sister he had been bullied at school, according to police, who wrote that he “likely had a cognitive disability.”
uncertain
he → tell → disability
Griffin John II opened fire on a special-needs classroom at Silver Rail Elementary School on Oct. 15 before he was killed by a man who has two daughters at the school.
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who → open → school
Much about John remains unknown, and law enforcement is still investigating him and any potential motive.
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enforcement → remain → him
But the police reports show he experienced violence at a young age.
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he → show → age
Court and police records previously obtained by NBC News detailed a tumultuous home life, with both parents being involved in violent encounters and run-ins with law enforcement, as well as financial instability.
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parents → obtain → enforcement
At age 11, his sister’s friend assaulted him at his home, according to allegations in a Bend police report first obtained by NBC affiliate KGW.
uncertain
friend → assault → KGW
John’s mother, Shauntai Nickerson, told police in the 2022 incident that the friend “slapped John across the face, causing him to chip a tooth,” according to the report.
uncertain
him → tell → report
The friend also “punched John in the back of the head,” according to the report.
uncertain
friend → punch → report
Nickerson told police that John “had special needs,” and the officer wrote that it appeared he had a cognitive disability, given his “non verbal speech communication and speech patterns.”
asserted
he → tell → communication
John told the officer that after he came home, his sister’s friend asked him whether he wanted to fight and then slapped him, chipping his tooth, according to the report.
uncertain
he → tell → report
The officer noticed a small chip on one of John’s lower front teeth, according to the report.
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officer → notice → report
John then said the friend “punched him in the back of the head 4 to 6 times,” it said.
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it → say → head
John’s sister told the officer that when she got home earlier, John was upset and crying because, he said, he was being bullied at school.
asserted
he → tell → school
More coverage
- Records offer a picture of the Oregon school shooter’s tumultuous home life
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Records → offer → life
Hero who stopped Bend school shooter haunted by encounter: ‘I didn’t save everybody’
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I → stop → everybody
Oregon school shooting victims include 5-year-old whose family is ‘broken and lost’
-
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family → include → old
Oregon school shooter was 16-year-old whose mother purchased the gun he used, sources say
“John expressed concerns about reporting the bullying at school because his mom would get upset,” the officer wrote.
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officer → purchase → school
The officer said that he tried to contact the friend but that all of the numbers associated with the friend were disconnected or no longer in service.
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all → say → service
Another officer later went to the home and was also unable to speak with the friend, according to the report.
uncertain
officer → go → report
A little more than three years later, in 2025, John was punched multiple times by a man Nickerson had a relationship with, according to a Bend police report.
uncertain
Nickerson → punch → report
The man fled when Nickerson called 911, she told police.
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she → flee → police
Nickerson said she had been arguing with the man about his involvement with other women when she placed all of his belongings outside her apartment.
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she → say → apartment
The man then came to the apartment, banged on the front door and eventually forced himself inside, according to the police report.
uncertain
man → come → report
John told police that the man threatened to beat him and his mother up, according to the police report.
uncertain
man → tell → report
The domestic dispute turned physical when, John said, he tried to stand up for his mother as the man refused to leave the apartment, Nickerson told police.
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Nickerson → turn → police
The man “began to get violent, and I didn’t want him to hurt my mom at all,” John told police.
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John → begin → police
John said that he told the man he needed to leave and that the man shoved him twice, which made him drop his phone.
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him → say → phone
When John went to pick up his phone, the man “bodyslammed” him to the ground, wrapping his arm around his head and neck, according to the report.
uncertain
man → go → report
The man then punched John in the head about 12 to 14 times, John told the officer.
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John → punch → officer
The man left after he learned police would be on their way, according to the report.
uncertain
police → leave → report
Nickerson and John ultimately decided they did not want to cooperate in an investigation and pursue charges, saying the matter had been resolved, according to the report.
uncertain
matter → decide → report
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