Vance Says Republicans Shouldn’t Complain about Ramaswamy Ad featuring Amy Acton’s Estranged Mother

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Vance Says Republicans Shouldn’t Complain about Ramaswamy Ad featuring Amy Acton’s Estranged Mother

(Headline USA) Vice President JD Vance said during a campaign visit to Ohio on Wednesday that he is “disgusted” by the Republican pushback against an ad by Vivek Ramaswamy that features the estranged mother of his Democratic opponent in the governor’s race, Dr. Amy Acton, and raises questions about her traumatic childhood.

“Politics is a tough business,” Vance said to reporters.

In Cincinnati, the vice president said it was “not really my concern” whether the controversial 60-second spot was appropriate, and said he was focused on supporting Republican candidates in their midterm races.

“I’m a little bit disgusted when I see Republicans across the country who are whining more about that advertisement than they are about what the congressional Democrats and other Democrats want to do to the United States of America,” Vance said in his first public comments on the ad, which has roiled one of the most contentious and expensive governor’s races in the country.

The advertisement features Acton’s birth mother, Donna Arthur, calling her “a liar” and insinuating she has mental health issues. Arthur lost custody of her children after their stepfather was indicted for raping Acton.

The video was criticized by both Democrats and Republicans when it exploded into public view Tuesday, just two weeks before Election Day. On Wednesday, one of the candidates Vance was supporting at the rally offered a different view.

“I would not have run that ad,” Republican Sen. Jon Husted said in a statement to The Associated Press. He did not raise the issue during his joint appearance at the rally with Vance and Ramaswamy. Husted is in a tough fight with former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, who on Tuesday called the spot “disgusting.”

Nikki Haley, who sparred with Ramaswamy during the 2024 Republican presidential primary over the personal nature of his attacks, called him “a bad guy” in a social media post Tuesday. “It’s a shame he continues to get away with it,” she wrote.

Ramaswamy, a billionaire tech entrepreneur, claimed credit for the ad and said he will spend $4 million to promote it despite the backlash from some members of his own party. He didn’t address it in remarks before Vance spoke at a rally outside Cincinnati.

Acton, Ohio’s former health director, has made no secret of facing homelessness and abuse as a child.

Police and court records show Cledith Arthur was arrested and charged with the rape of his stepdaughter, then 12, in July 1978, after Acton’s biological father reported him to authorities. The abuse allegedly happened from December 1976 to April 1978. Cledith Arthur, who has since died, failed to show for a court appearance and became a fugitive.

Acton said she has not seen her mother since she appeared in a courtroom in the late 1970s. Her campaign on Tuesday posted a video of her brother who supported her backstory about living in a tent and being abused.

In his remarks to reporters ahead of the rally, Vance said Acton, “lies about every single one of her positions.”

Acton’s campaign declined to respond to Vance’s comments, saying that her painful backstory was not the centerpiece of her run for governor.

Michael Wedding, 20, came to Vance’s rally Wednesday — but not to support Ohio’s Republican ticket. He said he would be parting with his large Republican family and vote for Acton for governor, adding that he attended the rally in large part to see Ramaswamy in person.

He said he had seen the ad and found it “very, very gross.”

“She was sexually abused as a child,” he said of Acton, “and I thought it was kind of scummy that they would use that in an advertisement. I don’t think it’s right to use her sexual abuse as a kid, or give any sort of platform to that.”

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press.

Feds Bust Alleged Marriage Fraud Ring

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Feds Bust Alleged Marriage Fraud Ring

(Headline USA) Wedding rings were exchanged, and photos of a smiling bride and well-dressed groom made it look like these were legitimate marriages.

But federal authorities argued Wednesday that the ceremonies were part of an elaborate, decade-long marriage fraud ring that netted a half-dozen people in Massachusetts millions of dollars. Prosecutors charged six people, including the alleged ringleader Jennifer Gonzalez, with conducting as many as 20 marriages to help immigrants obtain legal status.

The other five were allegedly paid by Gonzalez to take part in the marriages — several of them taking part in multiple nuptials. Each marriage cost an immigrant from $38,000 to $40,000. All face charges including harboring illegal aliens, conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens, conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and marriage fraud.

“What an affront the alleged conduct revealed here today must be to those who play by the rules,” U.S. Attorney Leah Foley told reporters. “To see a for-profit business whose sole purpose is helping people cheat and skip the line by simply paying for it must be so offensive and disheartening to those who follow our country’s laws.”

Five of the six were arrested Wednesday morning and are expected to appear in federal court later in the day. A sixth defendant is currently in state prison serving a sentence for a firearms crime.

“Ms. Gonzalez got rich off selling the American Dream all the while investing her money in another country,” Foley said, detailing how Gonzalez allegedly used profits from the marriage ring to buy businesses and real estate in the Dominican Republic. She is an American citizen.

An attorney for Gonzalez, 43, of Fall River, Massachusetts, could not be reached for comment.

The arrests are the latest effort to crack down on marriage fraud and come as the Trump administration has increased restrictions on both legal and illegal immigration and reduced the avenues available for people to enter the country or become a citizen.

In August, 11 people were charged with participating in a multimillion-dollar scheme to help hundreds of Chinese nationals fraudulently obtain green cards through sham marriages to U.S. citizens. In that scheme, American citizens were paid as much as $30,000 to enter into bogus marriages with immigrants seeking lawful permanent resident status. The decade-long scheme netted tens of millions of dollars.

Three years ago, a similar scheme was prosecuted in Massachusetts. Marcialito Biol Benitez, a 49-year-old Philippine national living in Los Angeles, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and immigration document fraud. Benitez admitted operating a large-scale marriage fraud agency in which he arranged marriages between foreign nationals and American citizens.

In the latest case, prosecutors said the investigation was ongoing. They allege in the court documents that some of the defendants lied on applications for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, by falsely claiming they never had been married. Gonzalez is also accused of spending $120,000 she received in SNAP benefits. Prosecutors also accused the defendants of engaging in housing and unemployment fraud.

None of the immigrants who entered into the marriages have been charged.

“Marriage fraud undermines the processes that ensure honest, lawful individuals can marry United States citizens and enjoy everything the United States has to offer to them,” John Soares, assistant special agent in charge, Homeland Security Investigations in New England, told reporters. “Fraudsters, like the individuals arrested today, make that process more difficult.”

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press.

Kyle Francis Kennedy, the Granddaughter of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, Dies at 42

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Kyle Francis Kennedy, the Granddaughter of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, Dies at 42

(Headline USA) Kyle Francis Kennedy, the granddaughter of assassinated presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy and his wife Ethel Kennedy, has died. She was 42.

An advocate for education reform and disability rights, Kennedy lived most of her life in Massachusetts. She died on Sept. 21, according to the town clerk in Westwood, Massachusetts, where she lived, and an obituary published by a funeral home. A cause of death wasn’t immediately announced.

After college, Kennedy joined Teach for America where she worked as a teacher in New York City, according to an obituary written by her family, and later became an education advocate who worked with technology companies focused on improving school curricula.

She was the niece of U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Kennedy was a long-distance runner and ran the Boston Marathon in 2019, but a year later, she suffered a severe spinal cord injury that resulted in long-term paralysis, according to her family. She became an advocate for people with disabilities, including testifying before the Massachusetts legislature in a hearing on discrimination in health care for people with disabilities.

RFK’s family, like the rest of the Kennedy clan, is no stranger to tragedy.

Kyle Kennedy’s father, Michael Kennedy, was killed in a skiing accident in Colorado on New Year’s Eve 1997 at age 39.

Her grandfather, Robert F. Kennedy, was assassinated in Los Angeles in 1968 after winning California’s Democratic presidential primary. He had served as attorney general in the administration of his brother, President John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in Dallas in 1963.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press.

Immigration Watchdog Targets New Jersey Tuition Perks for Illegal Aliens

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Immigration Watchdog Targets New Jersey Tuition Perks for Illegal Aliens

(José Niño, Headline USA) The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) has entered the legal battle over New Jersey’s tuition breaks for illegal aliens, siding with the Trump administration as it seeks to dismantle the program.

According to a FAIR press release, the group filed an amicus brief in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey urging the judge to deny the state’s motion to dismiss.

FAIR says New Jersey admits resident illegal aliens to its public universities under looser standards than out of state Americans face, then charges them discounted in state rates while citizens from elsewhere pay far more.

Federal law forbids that arrangement. Under 8 U.S.C. § 1623(a), “An alien who is not lawfully present in the United States shall not be eligible on the basis of residence within a State … for any postsecondary education benefit” unless U.S. citizens can receive the same benefit “without regard to whether” they live in that state.

New Jersey tries to sidestep the statute by tying eligibility to schooling rather than address. Students generally must attend a New Jersey high school for at least 3 years, graduate there, and enroll at a public college. Illegal alien applicants must also sign an affidavit saying they have sought or will seek legal status.

FAIR rejects the distinction. Its brief, signed by attorney John M. Miano, notes that nearly every student attends high school in the state where they live, which turns the attendance rule into a near perfect substitute for residency. “Such requirements are a thinly veiled proxy for residency and run afoul of Congress’s prohibition,” the brief states.

The brief advances two theories. Under express preemption, it argues states cannot dodge the federal ban by swapping in residency style criteria. Under obstacle preemption, it contends the state law undermines what Congress set out to achieve. The brief cites a 1996 conference report declaring, “This section provides that illegal aliens are not eligible for in-state tuition rates at public institutions of higher education.”

FAIR concludes that the New Jersey statute “stands as a deliberate and direct obstacle to Congress’s purpose” and “re-incentivizes what Congress sought to discourage.” Citing an 1824 Supreme Court ruling, the brief holds that when a state law “interfere[s] with, or [is] contrary to” federal law, it “must yield.”

“Federalism isn’t a game. If states come up with clever strategies to subvert the clear purposes of federal law, that just means their laws are preempted,” said Dale L. Wilcox, FAIR’s executive director and general counsel. “The court should see the obvious here—that New Jersey’s deliberate attempt to block Congress’s purpose runs afoul of the well-established doctrine of obstacle preemption—and strike down this law.”

The case is United States v. New Jersey, No. 3:26-cv-04862 (D.N.J.).

The brief can be found here.

José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino 

Defense Shares Slide As Election Risk Grows

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Defense Shares Slide As Election Risk Grows

(José Niño, Headline USA) U.S. aerospace and defense shares have lagged the broader market as investors reassess whether President Donald Trump’s proposed $500 billion military spending expansion can survive the November midterm elections. The Financial Times reported that Wall Street is increasingly pricing in a Democratic congressional breakthrough and a tougher path for the administration’s defense plans.

The iShares U.S. Aerospace and Defence ETF dropped 16 percent from early July through mid October, even as the S&P 500 advanced 3.5 percent, the Financial Times said. During that period, Kalshi market odds of Democrats winning both congressional chambers rose by 20 percent.

Robert Stallard of Vertical Research Partners said the market has tied contractor valuations increasingly closely to Trump’s political standing. “[US President Donald] Trump’s political fortunes and the chance of the Republicans losing the Senate have almost been in lockstep with the performance of defence stocks,” he told the Financial Times. “Usually, defence is a bipartisan issue, but this administration has made defence partisan.”

Trump’s proposal would lift annual defense spending from $1 trillion to $1.5 trillion. The Financial Times reported that defense executives greeted the plan enthusiastically in January, but conflict between Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and lawmakers over the Iran war has weakened confidence that Congress will approve the full increase.

The industry has also struggled to convert exceptional global demand into stronger share prices. The Financial Times noted that America and its allies are trying to rebuild weapons inventories amid continuing wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, yet large manufacturers retain lengthy production backlogs.

Lockheed Martin shares have fallen more than 20 percent from their early March high. Northrop Grumman and L3Harris have declined 35 percent and 36 percent over the same stretch, respectively, according to the Financial Times.

Capital Alpha Partners managing partner Byron Callan said Democrats may accept a higher overall defense budget while demanding more money for domestic programs and closer review of expensive weapons systems. “I don’t hear any Democrat calling for steep cuts in defence spending, but defence can’t be viewed in isolation,” he said. “Democrats are going to be wanting to increase non-defence spending, and so defence is likely to be subsumed into those discussions.”

Stallard said projects most closely identified with Trump could face the greatest scrutiny. “Anything that has Trump’s name on it or the word ‘golden’ could be at risk,” he said, referring to proposed Trump class battleships and the Golden Dome space defense initiative.

José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino  

‘Incendiary Device’ Reportedly Thrown at Atlanta ICE Building

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‘Incendiary Device’ Reportedly Thrown at Atlanta ICE Building

(Headline USA) The FBI is investigating reports of an “incendiary device” being thrown at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in downtown Atlanta on Tuesday night.

There were no reports of injuries or significant damage, the FBI said in a statement.

“FBI personnel and evidence response technicians are on site collecting evidence,” the statement said. “There is no known threat to public safety at this time.”

Video online shows crime scene tape and law enforcement outside the building.

The space also houses an immigration court.

ICE did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment Tuesday night. Atlanta police directed questions to federal authorities.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

Ohio Gubernatorial Candidate’s Abusive Childhood in Spotlight Thanks to Ramaswamy

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Ohio Gubernatorial Candidate’s Abusive Childhood in Spotlight Thanks to Ramaswamy

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign appeared to stand by an ad that featured his Democrat opponent Amy Acton’s estranged mother to attack her as a “liar.”

The ad in question features Donna Stearns Arthur accusing her Democrat daughter of lying about her past. The two had not spoken in decades after authorities removed Acton from her home after her stepfather was indicted on sexual abuse charges.

“I love my daughter, but when I saw her lying about her opponent: It’s not easy for a mother to say this, but Amy has a serious problem. She is a liar. She lies about her past. Don’t vote for people who lie,” Donna Arthur said.

Ramaswamy’s team confirmed late Tuesday that it produced a controversial advertisement, and the campaign said it will spend $4 million to promote it despite facing bipartisan rebuke for dredging up the painful childhood of his Democratic opponent in Ohio’s governor’s race.

The ad drew swift condemnation from most observers. Acton’s campaign and her brother pointed to the fact that their stepfather, Cledith Arthur, faced a grand jury indictment on allegations he sexually abused a 12-year-old Acton.

Cledith Arthur was initially arrested and then released on bond in July 1978. According to Acton, the man never returned to court despite multiple warrants for his arrest. He died in 2004 without ever facing trial.

Connie Luck, a spokesperson for Ramaswamy’s campaign, appeared to cast doubt on Acton’s childhood account in a statement. She added that Acton’s mother was not paid for the one-minute video, which she said will stream online and air on television.

Luck specifically said: “We don’t know what happened between Amy and her mother, who first spoke out about Amy in 2020, but we know that Amy Acton is a serial fabulist who has some serious problems with the truth that the public needs to be aware of before deciding who to entrust as governor.”

By contrast, Acton’s brother, Philip Stearns, condemned the video in a campaign statement.

“It’s not surprising that Vivek Ramaswamy has stooped to such a despicable low as to attempt to turn the sexual abuse Amy endured at twelve years old from our birth mother’s husband into a political talking point,” Stearns said.

Stearns said that their mother remained married to their stepfather after he and his sister were removed from her custody.

“This desperate, disgusting attack reveals exactly who Vivek Ramaswamy is at his core – a pathetic excuse for a man who is willing to hurt anyone as long as it gets him what he wants,” Stearns added.

Casey Putsch, a car designer and YouTube provocateur who competed against Ramaswamy for the Republican nomination for governor, also said on social media that he would be voting for Acton in the wake of the ad’s release. He called the video “pretty damn low.”

Right-wing streamer Nick Fuentes called Ramaswamy a “sick human being” over the matter.

The general election is scheduled for Nov. 3. As of Oct. 18, RealClearPolitics’ polling average showed Ramaswamy leading Acton within the margin of error.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

‘The Simpsons’ Resurrects Apu after Nearly a Decade of Silence

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‘The Simpsons’ Resurrects Apu after Nearly a Decade of Silence

(Headline USA) Across 38 seasons of “The Simpsons,” the Halloween-themed “Treehouse of Horror” episodes have always been a treat of spooky stand-alone storylines. On Sunday, the show surprised viewers with a major resurrection: Apu, the beloved Kwik-E-Mart operator who had not been heard for the better part of a decade, spoke once again in Springfield.

He and his wife, Manjula, were back. However, Hank Azaria, a white actor, voiced Apu, has been replaced by Indian American actor: Sunil Malhotra. Another Indian, Janina Gavankar, is voicing Manjula.

Apu’s unheralded return comes after he was “canceled” amidst what was arguably the peak of the political correctness era.

How a documentary on Apu became a turning point

In “The Problem With Apu,” Kondabolu, a self-described fan of the Fox show, tried to process his misgivings. He interviewed a slew of celebrities of South Asian origin, including Kal Penn, Utkarsh Ambudkar and Hasan Minhaj, about growing up with the character. They shared memories of being bullied and called “Apu” as an insult.

In a 2018 episode, “The Simpsons” responded to Kondabolu’s documentary by having Lisa Simpson bemoan how “something that started decades ago and was applauded and inoffensive is now politically incorrect. … What can you do?” The camera then panned to a framed photo of Apu

In a 2020 New York Times interview, Azaria, who by then hadn’t voiced Apu in a few years, announced he would bow out because “it just didn’t feel right.” Later that year, in response to racial reckoning demonstrations, “The Simpsons” announced it would no longer cast white voice actors as characters of color. The show then recast two black characters, Carl Carlson and Dr. Julius Hibbert, with black actors.

Apu was also embraced by South Asians, despite the controversy

A few weeks after “The Simpsons” responded to the documentary, author and producer Amar Shah wrote a series of social media posts and then a Washington Post op-ed on why he felt mostly sentimental toward Apu. When he watched Apu, he thought of his own Indian father hard at work as a convenience store owner and how that shaped his Florida childhood.

“Apu even now is a character that I wouldn’t mind my kids seeing represented because they’ll see aspects of themselves and of their own grandparents,” says Shah, reflecting on his 2018 piece. “I can totally empathize with someone of South Asian origin having a different POV (point of view) than me but this is my childhood. This is my story.”

After watching this latest episode, Shah didn’t sense any significant difference with Malhotra’s performance.

“Obviously, there’s a different voice, tenor, texture and all that. But, the character is always going to be there, his genuine humanity,” Shah says. “I think if they had incorporated this change earlier, it would have been a lot better.”

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

Japan Launches Spacecraft to Mysterious Moons of Mars

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Japan Launches Spacecraft to Mysterious Moons of Mars

(Headline USA) A Japanese spacecraft rocketed toward Mars on Tuesday on a quest to explore its mysterious moons and bring back samples.

Five of the world’s space agencies joined forces for the five-year mission that will attempt to land a robotic prospector plus a rover on Phobos, the larger and closer of Mars’ two pint-sized moons.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, which is leading the bold sampling effort, launched the spacecraft before dawn from the country’s main spaceport on Tanegashima Island. Officials declared success an hour later when the spacecraft separated as planned from the rocket’s upper stage. Flight controllers burst into applause and jumped to their feet, shaking hands and embracing.

No one has managed to get samples from Mars or its moons yet

While NASA has successfully landed nine spacecraft on Mars over the past 50 years and China scored a 2021 touchdown, no one has ever reached Phobos or its sidekick Deimos. And no one has managed to fetch samples from Mars, let alone its moons.

If successful, bits of dust, soil and rocks from Phobos will arrive on Earth in 2031.

“There’s a lot of adrenaline and a lot of excitement and a lot of wow,” said NASA astrophysicist Tom Statler, who’s involved with the project.

Japan has an edge going in, with two asteroid sample returns already under its cosmic belt.

Mars’ moon Phobos is a lumpy, little rock

Phobos is a lumpy, potato-shaped rock just 14 miles or so across. Examining pieces of it can explain how Mars’ moons — and possibly moons elsewhere — came to be.

Dubbed MMX for Martian Moons Exploration, the $578 million mission features a hefty 5-ton spacecraft that should reach Mars by late next summer. It will sync up with Phobos’ tight orbit around the red planet, before ejecting the French-German rover that’s named Idefix after the white terrier in the Asterix comics.

No bigger than a microwave oven, Idefix will plop onto Phobos by itself, bouncing for several minutes before coming to a halt in the moon’s extraordinarily low gravity.

What happens after European Idefix rover lands

The four-wheeled rover is designed to right itself if it lands upside down. All bets are off, though, if it sinks into soft soil or gets wedged between rocks, said the French Space Agency’s Julien Baroukh. Once the rover’s solar panels are deployed, the vehicle can no longer right itself, he added, which is why it will move at a glacial 1 millimeter per second (0.04 inches per second).

Idefix will serve as a “scout for safety,” according to Baroukh, as it prowls around Phobos for 100 days. Japanese flight controllers want to avoid powdery soil and rough terrain when the mothership — a four-legged stationary lander — descends to the surface to gather samples in late 2028 or 2029.

The lander will spend just two hours on Phobos, drilling and vacuuming up at least 10 grams (one-third of an ounce) of material, before launching back into space. It will study Deimos during a series of flybys before leaving the Martian neighborhood in 2030 and hustling back to Earth for a 2031 sample delivery in the Australian desert.

It’s a treacherous undertaking, with wreckage littering the path.

The moons’ names aren’t exactly comforting: Phobos is Greek for fear and Deimos means dread. They’re the twin sons of the god of war Ares — Mars in Roman mythology.

Scientists hope to learn how Mars’ 2 moons formed

Russia stumbled in all three of its Phobos attempts as well as many other Mars endeavors. In its only other Mars mission, Japan failed to get a spacecraft into orbit around the red planet. Even NASA has had its share of flops in a bid to answer the burning question: Did life ever exist on Mars?

By studying Mars’ moons, scientists hope to learn whether Phobos and Deimos formed in the aftermath of an ancient collision between Mars and a battering space rock. It’s also possible that the moons might be stray asteroids that became ensnared in Mars’ gravity.

Either way, scientists anticipate finding traces of Mars on Phobos, making the samples an irresistible two-for-one that should help demystify planetary and moon formation, and perhaps even the recipe for life. The findings will help shape future Mars missions, including those by astronauts, said NASA’s acting planetary science director Lindsay Hays.

“It is a once-in-a-lifetime chance. We are part of the first sample return mission from the Martian system,” said the German Space Agency’s rover chief Markus Grebenstein.

Japan isn’t the only one looking to claim the scientific riches packed into the Martian system’s rocks and dirt. China plans to launch a sample return mission to Mars in 2028, while NASA is still debating how to retrieve the more than 30 sample tubes collected by the Perseverance Mars rover, the new champion for off-Earth driving.

Japan and China could be neck-and-neck in getting samples back from the Martian system. Both are targeting 2031.

Japan is investing $350 million in this mission. NASA is contributing $87 million, the French Space Agency about $68 million, the German Space Agency about $56 million and the European Space Agency some $17 million.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

Parents Hire Attorneys to Investigate Oregon School Shooting

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Parents Hire Attorneys to Investigate Oregon School Shooting

(Headline USA) 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.

“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.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

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