Parents of Bend, Oregon, shooting victim hire attorneys to investigate
school plans and gun purchase
[October 20, 2026]
By JOSH KELETY
The parents of one of three children killed in last week's shooting at
an elementary school in Oregon have hired attorneys to investigate the
school's protocols and how the teenage gunman got his weapon.
Rhoam Summer, 5, was one of three children killed along with a teacher
in the attack Thursday at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, a
mountain-ringed city of about 100,000 in central Oregon. The other two
children killed were ages 8 and 11, and a fourth student and another
teacher were wounded, police have said.
The attorneys announced the investigation Saturday, saying it will probe
various issues, such as whether the school had an active shooter
protocol in place and how the gunman, 16-year-old Griffin J. John II,
acquired the 12-gauge pump-action shotgun police say he used and where
it was originally purchased.
Bend-La Pine Schools Superintendent Steven Cook said Friday that the
school district has “invested heavily” in security cameras, door locks,
fencing and other security measures.
“We practice lockdowns with students and staff twice a year at every
school,” Cook said. “Rest assured, we will take a hard look at
everything that we have done, and what more needs to be done to ensure
that our students, our staff and our families are safe in our schools.”
Rhoam's parents, Kelik and Lillian Summer, initially hired attorneys
Friday to handle media interview requests, Tim Williams, a personal
injury attorney in Bend and co-lead counsel for the parents, said in a
phone interview. The boy's parents released their own statement
remembering their son as strong and kind with a love for rainbows and
unicorns along with sharks and dinosaurs.
“He was 5 years old,” the statement said. “He wanted to go to the
pumpkin patch, learn to ride horses, learn to play an instrument, and be
a bunny for Halloween.”
Of interest is how the shooter, a minor, accessed his weapon, Williams
said.
A law enforcement official briefed on the shooting last week told The
Associated Press the shooter’s gun was bought by his mother. The
official spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity
because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the investigation.
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This undated photo provided by Swan Sheridan on Friday, Oct. 16,
2026, shows Rhoam Summer, a victim in the Thursday, Oct 15, 2026,
shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Ore. (Lillian
Hannah Jolly-Summer/Swan Sheridan via AP)
“We don’t know if the shooter’s mother qualified to own a firearm.
We don’t know whether or not the dealer was aware that the firearm
was being bought for a minor,” Williams said, adding that there are
“various issues there we’re trying to suss out.”
Under Oregon law, a minor may possess a shotgun if provided by a
parent or by someone else with the parent’s consent.
The attacker’s mother, Shauntai Nickerson, has not responded to
messages from The Associated Press. Nickerson on Friday told some
reporters outside her apartment near the school that if she could
have done something to prevent the shooting, she would have.
Police said John got into the school by shooting through locked
doors. Authorities said he was not currently enrolled in the Bend-La
Pine district but had once been a special needs student at the
school.
Williams said they are trying to determine whether the school
district is “liable or not.” If it is liable, he added, they'd try
to “work with the school district to come to some sort of
conclusion, you know, and resolution, ideally safeguarding this from
happening again in the future.”
Classes and activities were suspended Monday and Tuesday across the
district. No reopening plan has been announced for Silver Rail.
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Kelety reported from Phoenix.
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