Oregon Law Left Shotgun Purchase Legal After Assault Charges Against Nickerson Ended Without Conviction

Four people died at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend when a 16-year-old brought a loaded shotgun into his former school. The weapon belonged to his mother, Shauntai Nickerson, who purchased it legally in August. Records reviewed by the Oregon Journalism Project show she had faced two assault accusations in 2023, neither of which produced a conviction.

Oregon prohibits the sale of firearms to anyone convicted of a violent misdemeanor, including assault, within the prior four years. Nickerson's record did not trigger that restriction. A conviction in either 2023 case would have barred the purchase. Law enforcement officials said the Mossberg Maverick 88 pump-action shotgun was registered in her name. The model typically sells for $250 to $300. Officials have not identified the retailer.

The first incident occurred in January 2023. A Bend police report states Nickerson, then 40, and her daughter Ariel Swan, then 19, attacked a woman outside a Taco Bell. The report says Nickerson followed the woman down an alley in a white SUV, attempted to run her over, and shouted obscenities from the window. Both women then exited the vehicle and assaulted her. A bystander told officers the pair "definitely hunted her down." Swan was arrested and faced harassment and attempted fourth-degree assault charges. Police reports state Nickerson "charged" at officers during the arrest. She was not arrested or charged in that case.

In March 2023, Nickerson faced assault and harassment charges in a separate case involving another victim, a woman in her early 40s. Court records contain no police report and note only that she caused "physical injury." She pleaded guilty to harassment in October 2023. Two weeks later, the Deschutes County District Attorney's office under Steve Gunnels dismissed the assault charge. The office said in an Oct. 23 statement that prosecutors lacked sufficient evidence to prevail at trial.

Tung Yin, a professor at Lewis & Clark Law School, said the resolution likely stemmed from a plea bargain, which allows both sides to avoid trial. He noted that police and prosecutors hold broad discretion over charging decisions. "There are so many crimes that people commit, prosecutors just can't charge them all, so they have to pick and choose," he said.

Police have not stated a motive. Oregon Public Broadcasting reported that investigators are examining possible ties to extremist groups. Court records describe a turbulent childhood for the shooter. His father, Griffin J. John, 47, carries a felony conviction for assaulting a police officer along with misdemeanor assault and harassment charges, and is homeless in Astoria. Nickerson was herself a survivor of domestic violence; her then-boyfriend Kyle Duncan pleaded guilty in 2014 to felony assault and coercion against her. Those convictions were later vacated after he completed a deferred sentencing program.

Dr. Harold Schwartz, a University of Connecticut psychiatry professor who studies school shooters, said many people share traits like isolation and anger without becoming violent. "The single most significant difference is the availability of the weapon," he said. National Institute of Justice data show 77% of mass shooters accessed their firearms legally, and more than 80% of school shooters took guns from family members. Nickerson, Duncan and Swan did not return calls seeking comment.