A 6-year-old student was taken into custody after he shot a teacher in a classroom at Richneck Elementary School on Friday January 7, 2023 in Newport News, USA. — Jay Paul/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/Getty Images via AFP
A 6-year-old boy is being held in custody Monday in Newport News, Virginia. He is accused of deliberately shooting Abby Zwerner, his 25-year-old teacher, after an “argument” in class.
A 25-year-old teacher was seriously injured in a gunshot at her elementary school in the town of Newport News, Virginia, on Friday. According to the initial findings of the investigation, it was a 6-year-old student who shot him.
Teacher’s health “improved”
Authorities have not said how the boy got the gun or who owned it. As for the exact circumstances of the tragedy, they said it was not an “accidental shooting.” According to initial information, the child is said to have shot his teacher after “an argument”.
Abby Zwerner was shot in the abdomen and hospitalized in critical condition. His condition improved over the weekend, according to Newport News Mayor Phillip Jones. Several sources report that after being hit, the teacher told the other students to flee.
The child is currently in custody
The facility, which has around 550 students, has metal detectors, according to the BBC. Students are screened at random and not all children are screened every time. The six-year-old is now in custody.
“We’re making sure he has all the services he needs right now,” Newport News Mayor Phillip Jones said Saturday.
Under Virginia law, six-year-olds cannot be tried as adults and, if found guilty in juvenile court, are not old enough to appear before the Justice Department. However, the authorities could withdraw custody from the parents.
51 school shootings in 2022
“It’s a very rare situation and the legal system isn’t really designed or positioned to deal with it,” researcher David Riedman, founder of the K-12 School Shooting Database, told The Associated Press.
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In the United States, school shootings by a student this young are rare but not unprecedented. According to The Guardian, there have been sixteen incidents since 1970 involving shooters under the age of ten. According to Daniel Webster, a professor and gun violence expert at Johns Hopkins University, the numbers are rising.
The city’s mayor said he viewed the drama as a “red line for the country,” adding, “I think after this event there will be a nationwide discussion about how many things of this genre can be avoided.”
According to Education Week, there have been 145 school shootings in the United States since 2018, causing injuries or deaths, including 51 in 2022.
Original article published on BFMTV.com
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