Oregon School Shooting: Mom of Gunman Insists Son Was ‘Good Boy'

The mother of the Oregon school shooter is breaking down over her son's deadly rampage ... insisting he was a good kid despite killing four people.

Shauntai May Nickerson was in tears outside her Bend, Oregon apartment, telling The New York Times her 16-year-old son, John J. Griffin II, was "a good boy, he really was."

Nickerson was seen smoking a cigarette as she struggled to speak ... repeatedly apologizing and saying she missed her son ... she also expressed regret over the massacre, saying, "If I could have prevented this, I would have."

And it turns out, Griffin had been struggling for years ... with his mother previously speaking out about the challenges he faced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Back in 2020, Nickerson told local station KTVZ her son had special needs and was having a tough time with remote learning, explaining he needed trained educators to help him succeed.

Griffin was also part of the school district's NEST program, which helps students with serious behavioral and social challenges.

As TMZ previously reported, Griffin opened fire Thursday at Silver Rail Elementary School, killing three children and a teacher in a special needs classroom ... at the same school he once attended.

The teen was armed with a pump-action shotgun reportedly purchased by his mother, though she wouldn't say how he got it.

His killing spree came to an end when armed father Kaylub Giamanco chased him into the school and fatally shot him.