A six-year-old boy was arrested in the United States on Friday after he shot his elementary school teacher in class, seriously injuring her, police said.
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The tragedy, which happened at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia (east), nearly 300 km south of Washington, caused no other injuries.
“He’s a six-year-old kid, he’s currently in custody,” local police chief Steve Drew told reporters. “This is not an accidental shot,” he added.
The victim is a young woman in her 30s and her life is in danger, he said.
“I am shocked and demoralized,” said George Parker, principal of Newport News. “We need the support of our community to make sure children don’t have access to guns.”
Shootings, particularly in schools, are a scourge in the United States. In May, a teenager killed 19 schoolchildren and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.
According to the Gun Violence Archive, there were more than 44,000 gun-related deaths in the United States last year, half of them from suicide and the other half from homicide, accident or self-defense.