National news outlets, including The New York Times, have identified the Silver Rail Elementary School shooter’s mother as Shauntai May Nickerson. Citing anonymous law enforcement officials not authorized to speak on the matter, outlets also say the shotgun the 16-year-old used to kill three children and a teacher, and critically injure another student and a teacher, was registered to Nickerson.
According to recent court records, Nickerson lives several blocks away from Silver Rail on Brosterhaus Road.
The Deschutes District Attorney’s Office would not confirm those details today. The Bend Police Department also declined to confirm details about the shooter and to whom the shotgun was registered. Spokesperson Sheila Miller said the department would have more details on Monday. On the same day, Bend-La Pine Schools will also publicize safety measures throughout the district, which will resume classes on Oct. 21. Classes are Silver Rail are suspended indefinitely, the district said Friday.
Whether criminal charges are brought against the shooter’s mother or anyone else will depend on whether prosecutors find evidence of crimes such as criminal negligence.
In March 2023, Bend Police officers arrested Nickerson on charges of fourth-degree assault, a violent Class A misdemeanor, and harassment. In court, the assault charge was dropped, while Nickerson pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of harassment, a Class B misdemeanor, according to court records.
Oregon law lists a violent misdemeanor within four years as a disqualifier for a gun purchase.
An assault conviction may have precluded Nickerson’s purchase of the Mossberg Maverick 88, the gun police say her son used in the Silver Rail shooting, which holds six to eight rounds and retails for about $320. It’s not clear when Nickerson may have bought the shotgun.
According to Everytown for Gun Safety, a nationally prominent gun violence prevention organization, Oregon’s laws are the 12th strictest in the country. A person must be 18 to own a long gun, according to the state.
Yet lawmakers and citizen groups alike have been working to bolster Oregon’s gun safety laws. In recent years, new laws have mandated secure storage and a prohibition of guns at the state Capitol. Universities have the power to prohibit guns on campus, and lawmakers have enacted a prohibition on 3D-printed and untraceable ghost guns, according to Everytown.
Yet one crucial measure has been ensnarled in the courts.
Passed by voters in November 2022, Measure 114, authored by an interfaith group, proposed a permit-to-purchase requirement, mandating that anyone who wants to buy a gun would need to submit to — and fully complete — a federal background check. They’d also have to take a gun safety class that would require would-be buyers to prove they know how to safely load, fire and store a firearm. Measure 114 also capped magazine capacity at 10 rounds.
The measure would also criminalize the transfer of a gun to someone who doesn’t have a valid permit or a completed background check.
State voters approved Measure 114 by a 1.3% margin, according to the Oregon Capital Chronicle. Opposition was more concentrated in rural, conservative corners of the state, with support found in cities that are blue in their politics.
But a circuit court judge in Harney County ruled that the measure violated Oregonians’ Second Amendment Rights. Measure 114 is presently awaiting a ruling by the Oregon Supreme Court.
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