The 16-year-old who killed three children and a teacher, and injured two others, at an elementary school in Oregon, had been assaulted twice in recent years – including once by his mother's boyfriend.
asserted
who → kill → boyfriend
Authorities are still trying to determine what motivated Griffin John II to open fire at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend on October 15, when he killed five-year-old Rhoam Summer, teacher Megan Lambert and two other special needs students who have not been publicly identified.
asserted
who → try → Summer
But court records detail how John, who had a cognitive disability, was allegedly bullied by his peers and had a tumultuous home life, with both parents being involved in violent encounters and run-ins with law enforcement.
uncertain
parents → detail → enforcement
When he was 11 years old, his sister's friend also assaulted him at his home, according to a police report obtained by KGW.
uncertain
friend → assault → KGW
His mother, Shauntai Nickerson, told police in the 2022 incident that the friend 'slapped John across the face, causing him to chip a tooth' and 'punched John in the back of the head.
asserted
him → tell → head
The incident began after John returned home, when he said his sister's friend asked him whether he wanted to fight and then slapped him, leaving him with a chipped lower front tooth.
asserted
he → begin → tooth
John said the friend then 'punched him in the back of the head four to six times.'
asserted
friend → say → head
In a subsequent interview with the police, John's sister told the police officer how she returned home and saw John upset and crying because, he said, he was being bullied at school.
asserted
he → tell → school
Griffin John II, 16, had been assaulted twice before he opened fire at an elementary school in Bend, Oregon on October 15
asserted
he → assault → October
Five-year-old Rhoam Summer and teacher Megan Lambert were killed in the shooting
'
asserted
Summer → kill → shooting
John expressed concerns about reporting the bullying at school because his mom would get upset,' the officer wrote in the report.
asserted
officer → express → report
Nickerson then explained that John 'had special needs' and the responding officer wrote that it appeared he had a cognitive disability, given his 'nonverbal speech communication and speech patterns.'
asserted
he → explain → communication
The officer wrote in the report that he then tried to contact the friend, but all of the phone numbers associated with the individual were disconnected or no longer in service.
asserted
all → write → service
Another police 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 over three years later, in 2025, John was punched multiple times by a man Nickerson had been in a relationship with, according to another police report.
uncertain
Nickerson → punch → report
Nickerson said she had been arguing with the man about his involvement with other women when she placed all of his belongings outside of her apartment.
asserted
she → say → apartment
The man later arrived at the apartment, banging on the front door and eventually forcing himself inside – at which point, John said, the man threatened to beat him and his mother up.
asserted
man → arrive → him
The dispute then became physical when, John said, he tried to defend his mother as the man refused to leave.
asserted
man → become → mother
He said the man 'began to get violent, and I didn't want him to hurt my mom at all.'
John shot the locked doors of Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon and opened fire
Authorities are still trying to determine a motive for the deadly shooting
So, John said, he told the man he needed to leave – prompting the assailant to shove John twice, forcing him to drop his phone.
asserted
he → say → phone
When John then went to pick it up, the man 'body slammed' him to the ground, wrapping his arm around his head and neck, the police report said.
asserted
report → go → head
The man then punched John in the head about 12 to 14 times, he claimed, but fled after he learned that police were called to the scene.
asserted
police → punch → scene
But Nickerson and John ultimately decided they did not want to cooperate in the investigation and pursue charges, saying the matter had been resolved.
asserted
matter → decide → charges
Other court documents detail how Nickerson was twice accused of assault in Deschutes County, but was never charged in the first incident and the charges were dropped by the District Attorney the second time.
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charges → detail → Attorney
One January 2023 police report obtained by the Oregon Journalism Project details how Nickerson and her elder daughter, Ariel Swan, then 19, assaulted a woman outside a Taco Bell.
asserted
Nickerson → obtain → Bell
The report, based on conversations with Nickerson, Swan, bystanders and the victim, says Nickerson followed the woman down an alley in a white SUV and tried to run her over, according to the Oregon Journalism Project.
It also describes Nickerson 'yelling obscenities' at the woman from an open car window before she and her daughter jumped out of the SUV and attacked the alleged victim.
uncertain
she → base → victim
Nickerson and Swan told police in the aftermath that the victim slept with Nickerson's ex-boyfriend, but the victim denied the claim and said she did not know the two women.
uncertain
she → tell → women
John's mother, Shauntai Nickerson, was twice accused of assault in Deschutes County, court records show
asserted
records → accuse → County
Meanwhile, a bystander told officers that Nickerson and Swan 'definitely assaulted' the woman and 'definitely hunted her down.
asserted
Nickerson → tell → her
'
Swan was ultimately arrested and charged with harassment and attempted fourth-degree assault.
asserted
Swan → arrest → harassment
During her arrest, according to the Bend police report, Nickerson 'charged' at the officers, saying: 'If you arrest her, you're gonna arrest me too, because I'm going to be next.'
uncertain
I → accord → me
Nickerson, however, was never arrested or charged in connection with the assault.
asserted
Nickerson → arrest → assault
But less than two months later, Nickerson was charged with assault and harassment in a separate incident involving a different victim.
asserted
Nickerson → charge → victim
Court records do not include a police report or provide specifics about the charges, only that Nickerson caused 'physical injury to the victim,' a woman in her early 40s, according to the Oregon Journalism Project.
uncertain
Nickerson → include → Project
Nickerson ultimately pleaded guilty to harassment in October 2023, but two weeks later, Deschutes County District Attorney Steve Gunnels's office dismissed the assault charge.
asserted
office → plead → charge
It said in a statement that the prosecutor on the case did not believe she had enough evidence to convict.
asserted
she → say → evidence
Community members were seen embracing at a makeshift memorial outside the school
A memorial was set up outside the school following the shooting
Despite the allegations, Nickerson was able to purchase a Mossberg Maverick 88 pump-action shotgun for her son, registered in her name.
asserted
Nickerson → see → name
John then used that firearm when he forced his way into Silver Rail Elementary School on October 15, and fired off 15 rounds before he was fatally shot by heroic father Kaylub Giamanco, 36.
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he → use → Giamanco
Giamanco recalled having a totally normal morning before the shooting would change everything.
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shooting → recall → everything
He got his kids up, made them 'pretty' for school photos, and drove them to school.
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them → get → school
Hours later, Giamanco would be driving home on his lunch break when he spotted Griffin John II shooting at a red vehicle in front of him.
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II → drive → him
…and 28 more, not listed.
The Aporia
