City mayor said he felt the purchase was 'a low cost to pay to reduce the amount of raw emotion and trauma we’re still facing in this community'

It paid $3,950 for AR-15 rifle, ammunition and other items found at scene

But Troutdale City Council avoided this by proposing to buy gun off him

This summer, his older sibling asked judge to order return of his weapon

An Oregon city has paid nearly $4,000 to buy an assault rifle and ammunition used in a deadly school shooting last year - rather than hand back the items to the teenage killer's older brother.

Jared Padgett, 15, gunned down his classmate Emilio Hoffman, 14, with his older sibling Lucas's Daniel Defense Armament DDM4 Carbine Rifle at Reynolds High School in Troutdale last June.

He then shot himself dead in one of the facility's bathrooms.

This summer, Lucas Padgett went to court to ask judge to order that the city to return his weapon, as well as hundreds of rounds of ammunition seized during an investigation into the shooting.

Shooting: Jared Padgett (left), 15, shot dead his classmate Emilio Hoffman, 14, at Reynolds High School in Troutdale, Oregon, last June. The rifle he used in the shooting belonged to his older brother, Lucas (right)

Deadly: The weapon was a Daniel Defense Armament DDM4 Carbine Rifle, like the one in this file picture

But the city argued that the items must be held as evidence in case a charge is ever filed.

However, the district attorney's office said almost a year ago that Lucas Padgett, 25, could not be prosecuted for allowing his brother to access the rifle, because he kept it in a locked container.

The judge ruled that city police must return the gun unless it could prove within 45 days that it was still being held as evidence - prompting city officials to propose buying the gun from Lucas Padgett.

Last week, Troutdale City Council agreed to pay the shooter's brother $3,950 for the rifle, ammunition and other items that were recovered from the scene on June 10, 2014.

The items included a bullet-proof vest and a US Army laundry bag, The Oregonian reported.

The deal was negotiated between lawyers for the town, a middle-class suburb of Portland, and Lucas Padgett, a U.S. Army reservist, who accepted the offer, according to Mayor Doug Daoust. Siblings: This summer, Lucas Padgett (pictured, right, with his killer sibling) went to court asking a judge to order that the city to return his weapon, as well as hundreds of rounds of ammunition seized by police Victim: Last week, Troutdale City Council agreed to pay the shooter's brother $3,950 for the rifle, ammunition and other items that were recovered at the scene on June 10, 2014. Above, Mr Hoffman, who was shot dead Speaking to Reuters, the mayor said he felt the use of public money to buy the items was 'a low cost to pay to reduce the amount of raw emotion and trauma we’re still facing in this community'.

'The police were not ready to release the evidence and from the input I got from citizens in Troutdale, many people were not comfortable with the gun returning to the community,' he said.

'You could make an issue out of the fact that we’re spending public money to buy the gun,

'But the entire seven-person City Council thought it was a low cost to pay to reduce the amount of raw emotion and trauma we’re still facing in this community.'

Mayor Daoust also released an official statement last Tuesday.

Paying tribute: In the wake of the school shooting, police determined that the weapon used by Padgett had been stolen from his older brother. Above, a woman leaves a floral tribute at the scene of the shooting

Argument: Lucas Padgett (right) argued that said the rifle and other items used by his younger sibling (left) during the school shooting in June last year were 'no longer needed for evidentiary purposes' by police

'Understanding the emotional trauma that both the Hoffman and Padgett families have been through, the city of Troutdale reached out to Lucas Padgett to seek a compromise that would be acceptable to all involved and help continue the healing process of this terrible tragedy,' it read.

The release said the city will request an order for 'final disposition of the property.'