The Virginia teacher who was shot dead by her 6-year-old student in her classroom is now awake and speaking to her family days after the life-threatening attack.
Abby Zwerner, 25, was shot dead on Friday while working at Richneck Elementary School in what police confirmed was “not an accidental shooting” – but they have yet to release more information about the child involved.
Meanwhile, a grandparent of a student at the school claimed that in the week before the attack, a child had brought “shiny gold bullets” and told his class and teacher that he was considering bringing a gun.
It is not clear if the student described by the grandparents is the same one who shot Zwerner in the abdomen at point-blank range.
Zwerner was shot in the abdomen around 2 p.m. Friday at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5W0ryzrfIk
Speaking to , the grandmother said: “Parents outside said their child has told them a child has been bringing shiny gold bullets to school and is thinking of bringing his gun. The student informed the parents, who informed the school.
“And the school got back to the parents just yesterday and said the kid’s parents said it was a nerf bullet and the parents said nerf bullets aren’t shiny and gold.”
Zwerner was reportedly attempting to confiscate the young child’s gun when he shot her. Police said they are working to find out how the child got hold of the gun and why he shot his teacher.
Richneck will remain closed through this Friday as the school and community continue to consider how to get students through this crisis.
One parent, Mark Anthony Garcia, whose young son is visiting Richneck, told CNN that the entire incident was a failure of the education system’s security system.
He said local parents had previously raised concerns to no avail.
“We’ve spoken to the principal, we’ve spoken to the careers adviser, we’ve gone to town hall meetings, we’ve spoken about Zooms, what else are we supposed to do?” he said.
A veteran, Garcia said several security measures failed at the school, including metal detectors, which he says the school only has one in the library.
Garcia’s son, Mark Jr., told CNN that shortly after the shooting, which he heard from his nearby classroom, “we all stayed calm.”
“Two people cried,” he said.
A key question, Mark Sr. said, is to understand if there have been any problems in the classroom in the past.
dr James Fedderman, president of the Virginia Education Association, said the problem will only get worse if students’ mental health needs are not met soon.
“We’re going to see an increase in crime in our schools and we really need to take the reins and do something about it,” he said, adding that schools currently don’t have the capacity to respond to the “social address our students’ emotional needs.’
Richneck Elementary School will remain closed this week as administrative leaders continue to consider how students can overcome the trauma experienced on Friday
Lawonda Sample-Rusk told a local outlet how she reacted to the shooting of 25-year-old teacher Abby Zwerner
Lawonda Sample-Rusk, a grandmother who was at school early Friday to pick up her two grandchildren, helped to help the wounded Zwerner.
Rusk told local news agency WKTR that she heard Zwerner scream, “I’m shot, I’m shot. Call 911.’
She and the school’s receptionist first thought Rusk was only injured in the hand, but then she “passed out on the floor.”
Rusk and the receptionist stayed with Zwerner and helped put pressure on the wound while other administration officials herded young students to designated safe zones.
Friday’s horrifying incident led Rusk to the region’s second annual Stop the Violence rally.
Concerned residents, community activists and city leaders came together to share concerns about the safety of the community following the shooting.
The police have so far refused to comment on whether and what contacts they had with Zwerner.