Federal and state law enforcement are investigating connections between violent online extremist groups and the 16-year-old gunman who killed three children and a teacher at an elementary school in Bend last week, multiple sources tell OPB.

As people in Bend reel from the devastation, they are seeking answers and accountability. Questions have predominantly focused on how the shooter obtained the shotgun that he used at Silver Rail Elementary. Investigators are working to discern the gunman’s motive and whether other people online encouraged or helped plan the mass shooting. Local sources said they had not yet confirmed whether there were any co-conspirators.

Four sources with knowledge of the investigation, including law enforcement officials, spoke to OPB on the condition of anonymity because the active investigation into the shooter’s motives is still in early stages.

It’s not yet clear what evidence investigators have seized or searched, but sources with knowledge of the case said investigators have developed a profile of a highly online and socially disaffected teen. The teen’s mother, Shauntai Nickerson, has not responded to multiple calls from OPB.

Spokespersons for the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice did not respond to questions from OPB regarding investigations into the Bend shooting. A representative from the Deschutes County District Attorney’s Office declined to comment and the Bend Police Department did not immediately respond to questions.

Multiple sources said law enforcement is investigating the shooter’s connections to what the FBI classifies as “nihilist violent extremist” groups, an umbrella term used by federal law enforcement to describe groups with no clear ideology. One prominent example of this category is “764,” a decentralized online network the bureau says wants to “sow chaos and facilitate the destruction of society” and “glorify violence, mass killers, and self-harm.”

Sources with knowledge of the investigation said “764” was one of the groups they are investigating in connection to the Bend shooting.

The groups, according to court records and law enforcement sources, operate on platforms including Discord, an online gaming and chat app. Investigators have issued search warrants to Discord and other online platforms in the Bend case, one source with direct knowledge of the investigation told OPB.

Discord did not immediately respond to OPB’s request for comment. On its website Discord says it cooperates with law enforcement.

It’s the second time in a month that law enforcement has surfaced the group “764” in connection with an attack at an Oregon school. In Multnomah County, law enforcement linked the group to an investigation of a Benson High School student who released toxic chemicals in the school cafeteria that could have harmed others.

Ties between young perpetrators and nihilistic views are emerging more frequently, according to researchers who study acts of mass violence. These are individuals — often teens — with no clear political or ideological motive for the violence they commit. Earlier this month, the Justice Department secured guilty pleas from two supposed leaders of “764.”

There are internet subcultures that idolize violence, even mass shooters, researchers said. Some who gravitate towards those communities have been groomed by others to commit violence, said James Densley, a professor of criminology at Metro State University in Minnesota.

“There are gradations of participation. You’ve got people that are consuming content, but then you’ve got others that are actually, actively contributing content. They are truly participating in this culture,” said Densley, who co-founded the Violence Prevention Project Research Center at Hamline University.

Diffuse online platforms with their own communities and subcultures have added to the ability of young, alienated people to find such groups, Densley said. But some groups traffic in extortive behaviors.

“You’ve also got these coercive online communities where adults are literally exploiting young people,” Densley said.

The Oregon Department of Justice is currently investigating Discord for failing to protect minors on its platform, separate from the Bend shooting. Discord did not respond to an emailed question about the state’s investigation.

On Monday, the agency sent Discord a civil demand letter requesting information about teen accounts dating back to 2021.

“As part of a comprehensive look at social media and AI technologies that have power to harm kids, the Oregon Department of Justice is investigating whether Discord failed to protect underage users, despite assurances that they have protections in place,” Attorney General Dan Rayfield told OPB in a statement Tuesday. “There must be strong oversight of these companies before more children are hurt, and if they are putting our kids in harm’s way, there needs to be immediate accountability.”

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2026/10/20/investigators-probe-bend-gunmans-connection-to-violent-extremist-groups/