Chilling details of Oregon school shooter’s family emerge as father’s violent past comes to light
BEND, OREGON: Previously undisclosed details from court filings are drawing attention to the troubled family history of Oregon school shooting suspect Griffin J. John II.
The 16-year-old was identified as the gunman in the October 15 shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School that claimed the lives of three children and a teacher.
Court records show that Griffin II’s father, Griffin John, served prison time for an assault involving his wife, Shauntai Nickerson, and later approached the court in an effort to reconnect with his son.
The filings also document the father’s struggles with alcohol and a history of domestic violence that predated Griffin II’s birth.
Attacker’s father had a violent history
Court records cited by the 'The New York Post' in a report published on October 20 reveal that Griffin J. John II’s father had a history of domestic violence even before the future school shooting suspect was born.
Griffin John was sentenced to four years in prison for an assault on his wife, Nickerson.
The case involved allegations that he physically attacked her and threatened her with a knife while she was pregnant.
The incident prompted Nickerson to leave their home in Newport, Oregon, and take their child with her.
After being released early from prison, John approached the court, seeking to have the restraining order against him lifted.
He reportedly argued that he deserved the chance to be part of his son’s life, telling the judge he wanted to “see his son grow up.”
Griffin II was born roughly eight months after the domestic violence case was initiated. His parents eventually went their separate ways, with Nickerson moving to Bend with the child.
As a result, Griffin II grew up apart from his father’s household.
While the records outline the circumstances surrounding his parents’ separation and his father’s legal troubles, they do not establish whether these experiences influenced his behavior later in life.
Griffin’s other run-ins with cops
John’s court filings reveal that his legal troubles predated the domestic violence case, with the father acknowledging a history of alcohol-related problems and repeated periods in jail.
In letters to a judge following his arrest, John described his struggle with alcohol and disclosed that he had been incarcerated several times before.
His name surfaced in another police case in 2012.
Authorities in Newport accused him of assaulting an officer byheadbutting him, as well as violating his parole conditions through alleged illegal substance use.
The available account does not specify whether he was ultimately convicted in that case.
The New York Post also reported a separate allegation from a bartender in the Toledo area, near Nickerson’s hometown, who claimed that John had made inappropriate remarks towards a teenage girl.
Griffin II was identified as the suspect in the shooting at Bend’s Silver Rail Elementary School, where four people, including three children, were killed.
An armed parent fatally shot the teenager during the incident. His mother had purchased the shotgun used in the attack, according to reporting citing a law enforcement official. Investigators continue to examine the motive and the circumstances surrounding the shooting.
