Shooter's mother bought gun after two 2023 assault accusations

Four people died at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend following a mass shooting. A week later, records show the shooter’s mother faced two assault accusations in 2023 before legally buying the weapon used in the attack.

Shauntai Nickerson purchased a Mossberg Maverick 88 pump-action shotgun in August. Law enforcement officials stated the firearm, which typically costs between $250 and $300, was registered in her name. Under Oregon law, 16- and 17-year-olds may use rifles and shotguns if a parent or guardian provides them. The 16-year-old shooter arrived at his former school with the loaded gun.

Oregon law bars the sale of firearms to anyone convicted of a violent misdemeanor, such as assault, within the previous four years. Because neither of Nickerson’s 2023 accusations ended in an assault conviction, the restriction did not apply. A conviction in either case would have made the purchase illegal.

The first incident occurred in January 2023. A Bend police report described Nickerson, then 40, and her daughter Ariel Swan, then 19, assaulting a woman outside a Taco Bell. The report said Nickerson followed the victim in a white SUV and attempted to run her over. Both women then exited the vehicle and attacked the victim. Swan was arrested and charged with harassment and attempted fourth-degree assault. Nickerson was neither arrested nor charged, though reports say she charged at officers during the arrest.

In a separate case less than two months later, Nickerson was charged with assault and harassment. Court records indicated she caused physical injury to a woman in her early 40s. She pleaded guilty to harassment in October 2023. Two weeks later, Deschutes County District Attorney Steve Gunnels’ office dismissed the assault charge. The office stated on October 23 that the prosecutor did not believe there was enough evidence to win at trial.

Tung Yin, a professor at Lewis & Clark Law School, said the outcome likely reflected a plea bargain to avoid a lengthy trial. He noted that prosecutors exercise wide discretion in deciding which cases to pursue. Police have not discussed a motive, though investigators are examining possible links to extremist groups. The shooter was killed by a parent of two students at the school.

National Institute of Justice data show that 77% of mass shooters legally accessed their firearms. More than 80% of school shooters took guns from family members. Dr. Harold Schwartz, a University of Connecticut psychiatry professor, said the availability of the weapon is the key difference for many individuals. Nickerson, her ex-boyfriend Kyle Duncan, and Swan did not return calls seeking comment.