Police say 6-year-old boy who shot teacher in Virginia used his mother’s legally owned gun US News

[ad_1]

Police said a six-year-old pupil who shot his teacher used a gun that belonged to his mother and was legally owned.

Authorities said there was no fight or physical struggle before the boy opened fire on Abby Zwirner while she was teaching a lesson at a school in the US state of Virginia.

Police Chief Steve Drew said the boy took the 9mm handgun from his family’s home in a backpack on the day of the shooting.

Giving the first detailed description of the shooting that rocked the city of Newport News and a country now accustomed to gun violence, he told a news conference: “What we know today is that she was giving instructions. He showed a firearm, pointed and fired one shot.”

Drew had said earlier that the shooting was not accidental and declined to go into details.

He said he wanted to clarify comments he made immediately after the incident on Friday when he said there had been an “alteration” prior to the shooting.

The officer said it was like an “interaction” between the boy and his 25-year-old first-grade teacher at Rechnik Elementary School.

But he also stressed that the shooting “wasn’t an accident”.

“It was intentional,” he said.

The teacher praised a hero

Mr. Drew added that Ms. Zwirner raised her hand in a defensive position when the gun fired, and the bullet penetrated her hand and upper chest.

While her injuries were initially considered life-threatening, they have improved and she is currently listed in a stable condition in the hospital.

Mr. Drew hailed Ms. Zwirner as a hero for quickly getting her students out of the classroom after she was shot, saying surveillance video showed she was the last person to leave her classroom.

“I turned to the right and started down the hallway, and then I stopped… I turned around and made sure every one of these students was safe,” said the police chief.

Mr. Drew said a school employee ran into the classroom and physically restrained the boy after hearing the gunfire.

He said the boy became “a little combative” and hit the employee, but police officers arrived and escorted him out of the building to a police car.

Mr. Drew said the child has been held in a medical facility since the emergency detention order and temporary detention order were issued on Friday.

He said the judge would decide the boy’s next steps. Police have interviewed his mother, but it is currently unclear if she is likely to face any charges.

Photo: A vigil for teacher Abby Zwirner. Pic: AP

As questions loomed about the child and his mother, Ms. Zwirner’s friend told a crowd gathered for a Monday night vigil that the first-grade teacher showed “dedication and love for what she does day in and day out.”

“Abby is a warrior and she shows her mental and physical strength every day. I’m so proud of her,” said Rosalie List, a second-grade teacher at Reichneck.

Lauren Paladini, the Reichnik school counselor, told the audience that Ms. Zwirner was “nice”.

The school counselor added, “She is thoughtful. She cares. She was one of the most amazing teachers I have ever had to interact with.”

Amanda Bartley, who teaches at another elementary school in town, asked everyone to pray for the injured teacher and to “pray for the young man who did it.”

Speaking to reporters, she said many questions remain unanswered.

She said, “How did he get the gun? Why wasn’t it locked up? A good gun owner knows you lock up your gun. You have a safety. You keep the ammo separate from the gun itself.”

What will happen to the mother and the boy now?

Gun owners can be sued under Virginia law which prohibits anyone from leaving a gun recklessly loaded and unsecured in a manner that endangers the life or limb of children under 14 years of age.

Violation of this law is a misdemeanor punishable by a maximum of one year in prison and a maximum fine of $2,500.

Virginia does not have a law that requires unattended weapons to be stored in a certain way or a law that requires gun owners to lock up their guns with certainty.

“Virginia certainly has a weaker law than many other states that have child access prevention laws,” said Alison Anderman, senior counsel and director of local policy at the Giffords Law Center for Gun Violence Prevention.

Legal experts said that although it is theoretically possible under Virginia law to criminally charge a six-year-old, there are many obstacles to doing so, and that it is unlikely that any plaintiff will prosecute.

“It is almost impossible to imagine a six-year-old being found fit to stand trial,” said Andrew Block, a professor at the University of Virginia School of Law who was director of the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice from 2014 to 2019.

[ad_2]