A shot was fired in the middle of the classroom: Abigail Z.* (25), an elementary school teacher in the city of Newport News, Virginia, was shot on Friday. An elementary school student (6) pointed the gun at her and pulled the trigger. The bullet hit the 25-year-old in the chest, critically injuring her.
The shot was initially said to have been fired during an argument. But police have now made it clear that the boy deliberately shot the 25-year-old. “There was no physical fight or other scuffle,” police chief Steve Drew said at a news conference Monday. It was “not an accident,” he insisted.
It is not clear where the boy got the weapon from. Now the police say: the gun belongs to the boy’s mother. It was a legally purchased 9mm Taurus pistol that she kept in the house.
“Call 911, I’m Shot”
The student took the gun, put it in his backpack and took it with him. Police said the school has metal detectors but only random checks are carried out on the children and their bags. “Let’s face it, who would be prepared for a six-year-old to bring a loaded gun to school and shoot his teacher?” said George Parker, director of public schools at the Newport News.
After the shot, she “screamed at her students to run away,” one parent told Fox News. The children were taken to the gym before being reunited with their families.
Meanwhile, the teacher went to the administration office to get help. “She said, ‘Call 911, I’ve been shot.’ And then she passed out,” an eyewitness told the New York Times.
The school is closed on weekdays
Z. was taken to hospital and is now stable. The boy has been arrested by the police and is currently being examined in hospital. The police intend to request a pre-trial detention and further investigate the incident. The school will remain closed all week, the director said.
School incidents involving such young shooters are also rare in the United States. Since 1970, there have been 16 cases involving shooters under the age of ten, according to the New York Times. Three of these involved six-year-olds and two of these three incidents were recorded as an accident.
The Newport News incident highlights the ongoing threat of gun violence in schools across the United States. In May, 19 children and two teachers were killed in a shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. (SDA/hei)
* Name known