Virginia superintendent “in shock” after first-grader shoots teacher

"I cannot control access to weapons," said Newport News Superintendent George Parker. "My teachers cannot control access to weapons..."

On Friday, one six-year-old child intentionally shot and severely injured his first-grade teacher Abby Zwerner with a handgun at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia.

According to a police statement, they were notified that a teacher had been shot during an altercation of some kind. The student was immediately taken into custody and his teacher was transported to a local hospital to be treated for “life-threatening” injuries, according to the police department.

Superintendent George Parker said in a news conference that he was “disheartened” and “in shock” over the incident, questioning how a 6-year-old was able to get his hands on a firearm in the first place.

“We need to educate our children and we need to keep them safe,” he said during the conference. “We need the community’s support, continued support, to make sure that guns are not available to youth and I’m sounding like a broken record today because I continue to reiterate that: we need to keep the guns out of the hands of our young people.”

“I cannot control access to weapons,” he added. “My teachers cannot control access to weapons… Our students got a lesson in gun violence and what guns can do to not only disrupt not only an educational environment but also a family, a community.”

Parker noted that the elementary school will be closed through Monday to ensure “the mental health of our staff and our students.”

As of Friday afternoon, Zwerner was said to have shown “some improvements,” Newport News Police Chief Steve Drew told reporters. Police are still unaware of how the boy obtained the weapon.

“We have been in contact with [local prosecutors] and some other entities to help us best get services to this young man,” according to Drew.

No one else in the classroom was injured. Students were given permission to find their parents after the school was deemed safe.

According to the Associated Press, 6-year-olds cannot be tried as adults under Virginia law Additionally, they are considered too young to be taken under the juvenile justice department’s custody if they are found guilty of criminal charges.

However, the boy’s parents’ custody of the child can be stripped and given to the state social services department.


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Micah Ward
Micah Wardhttps://districtadministration.com
Micah Ward is a District Administration staff writer. He recently earned his master’s degree in Journalism at the University of Alabama. He spent his time during graduate school working on his master’s thesis. He’s also a self-taught guitarist who loves playing folk-style music.

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