Six-year-old child shoots teacher in Virginia school, critically injuring her
Police in Newport News, Virginia, reported that a 6-year-old kid had shot and wounded a teacher at Richneck Elementary School on Friday, causing widespread concern and prompted officials to pledge to investigate and take measures to prevent a recurrence.
Chief Steve Drew informed reporters that the teacher, a woman in her 30s, was in critical condition despite showing signs of recovery in the hospital.
How a 6-year-old got his hands on a gun is a question. It started with a “altercation” in the first grade classroom and ended with a single shot being fired, according to the police.
When asked where the gun came from, Drew insisted, “This was not an accidental shooting.”
Drew stated that the boy was now under arrest.
There was no student injury. Due to safety concerns, they were relocated to a gym, where counsellors were also made accessible, as reported by Drew.
“They are safe. They are interacting with officers and having some fun, slapping some high fives and teasing each other,” A statement made by Drew.
Under the supervision of school officials, students were returned to their families, Drew said.
Newport News Mayor Phillip Jones told reporters, “Right now it’s still raw, but what I will tell you is that there will be a full after-action (report), not only internally from the city council with the school board and others, but we will ensure that we have the right steps and policies so that this doesn’t happen again.”
George Parker, the superintendent of schools, expressed his “shocked” and “disheartened” feelings at the same news conference, lamenting teachers’ failure to prevent students from bringing firearms to school.
“We need to keep guns out of the hands of our young people,” Parker explained. “I cannot control access to weapons. My teachers cannot control access to weapons.”
Parker stated that random metal detector screenings are available at all school sites but were not used on the Richneck Elementary School campus on Friday.