Mother of teen accused in the Oregon school shooting apologizes to families amid reports she bought the shotgun

On October 15, a 16-year-old forced his way into Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, and opened fire in a classroom. Per CNN, He killed three children and a teacher before a parent shot him dead.

Now, the mother of the 16-year-old has come forward to apologize to the victims’ families. “I’m so sorry, I wish I could have done something. I’m sorry for their loss,” she told CNN on Oct. 16, speaking from her apartment balcony without appearing on camera. What she wouldn’t discuss was the weapon that his son allegedly used in the incident. 

According to the Associated Press, a law enforcement official said she had bought the shotgun the teen carried. When pressed by the media she refused to comment, saying, “I miss my boy. I’m so sorry”, insisted that he “was a good boy” and said that nothing had seemed wrong beforehand. 

The attack lasted only minutes

Police say the teen, who once attended special needs classes at Silver Rail, shot his way through the glass doors shortly before 1 p.m. and fired into one classroom. Among the dead were 5-year-old kindergartener Rhoam Summer and 25-year-old teacher Megan Lambert, KPTV reported. The relatives of the 8-year-old and 11-year-old boys killed asked police not to release their names.

One teacher reportedly flung her phone at him and grappled for the shotgun. Kaylub Giamanco, whose two daughters attend Silver Rail, then entered, carrying a pistol he owned legally, and fatally shot the gunman. A 7-year-old girl and 54-year-old special education teacher Becky Drury were also seriously wounded.

Back in 2020, the mother of the gunman, then in elementary school, told KTVZ that remote schooling had been hard on her son. She welcomed his return to a classroom with trained staff. “I think it will be great for [him], because I am not certified teaching a special needs student,” she said. 

Detectives are going through his phone and internet activity, per CBS News, but no motive has been announced as yet. Oregon permits parents to hand their children rifles and shotguns. Under ORS 166.470 (per WomensLaw) the ban on transferring guns to anyone under 18 excludes parents, though not for handguns.

Senate Bill 554, the state’s 2021 safe storage law, requires the adult who gives the gun to supervise the child directly. Skipping that step is treated as negligence per se in civil court, though that duty may not apply if a parent gives a child a long gun outright.