Oregon school shooter's mother Shauntai May Nickerson says son was a 'good boy'

On the day following a tragic shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, the mother of the perpetrator, John J. Griffin II, expressed her grief. Shauntai May Nickerson described her son as a "good boy", yet acknowledged the terrible events that unfolded. The 16-year-old had opened fire in the school's special education classroom, killing three children and a teacher, and critically wounding another child and a teacher.

A bystander, identified as Kaylub Giamanco, managed to stop Griffin before the police arrived. Giamanco, a father of two who also attends the school, had reportedly shot Griffin dead with a pump-action shotgun, which he claimed had been purchased by his own mother. Nickerson declined to comment on her son's possession of the weapon.

The heroics of Giamanco, who is also a school parent, have been widely praised. US President Donald Trump hailed him as a "great hero", while Oregon Governor Tina Kotek commended his actions, acknowledging the emotional toll it took on him.