New details about the alleged 6-year-old student who shot an elementary school teacher in Newport News, Virginia, have been released.
Police said the January 6 shooting at Richneck Elementary School “was intentional.”
According to Police Chief Steve Drew, the student pulled the gun out while 25-year-old Abigail Zwerner was delivering a lesson.
Drew said she was shot through the hand and into her chest after taking a defensive position. She remains hospitalized and is expected to survive.
“I wish we never had to (ask) … how does a 6-year-old know how to use a firearm? I don’t know that I can give you an adequate answer,” Drew said. “It’s unprecedented. I don’t know how to answer that question.”
According to Drew, Zwerner successfully removed all the students from her classroom after being shot.
Drew dubbed Zwerner “a hero” after viewing security footage of the “17 to 20” students exiting the classroom and entering another.
“It was heroic the way the students were taken care of,” he said.
It was reported that while Zwerner received medical attention in the administrative offices, a female school employee, who has not been named, entered the classroom and restrained the child. At 1:59 p.m., police received a call regarding a shooting; the first officers arrived five minutes later. Parents and students were reunited after systematically evacuating the rest of the school.
Dr. George Parker III, the school’s superintendent, announced that Richneck Elementary School canceled all classes for the remainder of the week.
He said the district and school would use the incident as a lesson to put stronger measures in place to prevent gun violence.
“In no way do I believe we were fully prepared for a 6-year-old to bring a weapon to school and shoot his teacher,” Parker said.
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