Boy aged six detained after shooting teacher in US
 

A six-year-old boy has been detained by police after shooting a teacher in the US state of Virginia, officers say.

The shooting happened shortly after 14:00 local time (19:00 GMT) at Richneck Elementary School in the city of Newport News, Chief Steve Drew said.

It is unclear how the child obtained the gun, but Mr Drew said the incident was not "an accidental shooting".

The teacher - who has not been named and is said to be in her 30s - was left with life-threatening injuries.

She was taken to a local hospital and is being closely monitored by doctors. The incident took place in a first grade (ages six to seven) classroom after an altercation between the pair.

But Mr Drew emphasised that the shooting had been an isolated incident and stressed that officers "did not have a situation where someone was going around the school shooting".

Officials said that while the school - which has around 550 students - had metal detection facilities, students were checked at random and not every child was inspected.

Police declined to name the weapon used in the incident, but said the boy had used a handgun.

School District Head Dr George Parker said officials would "be looking at any instance that may have occurred that may have caused this incident".

"This is terrible, something like this should never occur," Dr Parker added. "We want to ensure nothing like this happens again."

He said the school would be closed on Monday, and pledged that students and parents would be offered support to help them deal with the traumatic event.

Mayor Phillip Jones - who took office just three days ago - said the shooting marked "a dark day for Newport News".

"We're going to learn from this and we're going to come back stronger," he told reporters.

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin said he had offered assistance to local officials, adding that his administration was "ready to help in any way we can".

"I am continuing to monitor the situation and am praying for the continued safety of all students and the community," he wrote on Twitter.

Newport News is a city of around 180,000 people and sits about 70 miles (112km) to the south of the state capital Richmond.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-64194407

Jeez, what a sad, and tragic incident. Until that country gets to grips with it's gun laws, then this will keep happening, unfortunately.

Yes, how did a child get that Gun.

That is what will matter

I'm fairly sure their gun laws already exist that don't allow 6 year olds to have guns.

Obviously the Democrats fault for being the party of the criminal.

My bad, I thought there was a compulsory "6 year olds must have guns" law that was passed.

A firearm stored in a family home in Virginia, must be unloaded and in a locked gun safe or other secure compartment and ammo stored separately. How the **** did a six year old get his hands on a loaded gun?

Just shows how disturbingly easy it is in America, a 6 year old !!!! Geez . I've no words ...apart from the obvious that a little child should be nowhere near a gun ,let alone be holding one & firing it :umm2:.

id say it told you more about the feckless parents not storing their gun properly

i don't think it's known yet where he got the gun from

Yes, his parents, or whoever owned the gun.

Poor kid, not only would something like that leave him traumatised, what kind of circumstances must be surrounding him if that seemed a viable option? And if such a gun was so readily available?

This.

Although having said that, this is the first time that I've heard of a 6 year old shooting someone in the US.

How was it not an accidental incident though .. are they suggesting it was intentional ?


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as I understand it yes it was :shocked:

the teacher and the kid had a confrontation in the class and the kid shot her

See next time an officer tells me those cuffs ain't tight.

I'm gonna say, they can restrain a 6 year olds wrist you ****.

Tragic…the child must have bought the gun in from home.

How many minutes on the naughty step is this worth? I reckon at least half an hour. What a little devil.

Good grief.
It's frightening really.

https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cp...erner.jpg.webp

The condition of a Virginia teacher left seriously injured when she was shot by a six-year-old pupil has shown signs of improvement, authorities say.

Abby Zwerner suffered life-threatening injuries after she was shot with a handgun at Richneck Elementary School in the city of Newport News on Friday.

Mayor Phillip Jones told the BBC that Ms Zwerner's recovery was "trending in a positive direction".

But he added that she remained in a critical condition after the incident.

Online, social media users wished Ms Zwerner - who is believed to be in her 30s - a speedy recovery.

Her alma mater, James Madison University in Virginia, offered "prayers and best wishes for Abby's health and recovery".

It is unclear how the child - who remains in police custody - obtained the gun. Officials said that while the school - which has around 550 students - had metal detection facilities, students were checked at random and not every child was inspected.

Police have declined to say what might have motivated the incident, but Chief Steve Drew told reporters the shooting had come after an "altercation" in a first grade (ages six to seven) classroom and did not appear to be "accidental".

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-64200873

poor girl, she will need years to recover from such a traumatic event, and the idea that a kid of 6 could do this is hard to wrap your head around

CNN HD USA Live (on UK CNN)


Abby is now in a stable condition.

It was a result of an argument / disagreement apparently .. so he either had the gun with him at the time or took it in the next day or so by the sound of things


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The Gun would have come from his home
so that 6 year olds parents
are guilty of not locking the gun up

I believe it's a fairly regular occurrence (could be wrong). Just tried to find some statistics for it but there are so many US gun violence stats, that I would have been trawling for hours.

Gun-Related Injury Facts

Nearly 1,300 children younger than 18 years of age die from shootings every year.
1 in 3 families with children have at least one gun in the house. It is estimated that there are more than 22 million children living in homes with guns.
Most of the victims of unintentional shootings are boys. They are usually shot by a friend or relative, especially a brother.
Nearly 40% of all unintentional shooting deaths among children 11-14 years of age occur in the home of a friend.
Adolescents are at a higher risk for suicide when there is a gun in the home.

Myths About Guns

Some parents believe that hiding their guns will prevent children from accessing them. However, 75% of children who live in homes with guns know where they are stored.
Many parents think their children are not capable of firing a gun. However, children as young as 3 years old may be strong enough to pull the trigger of a handgun.
Parents believe their children know the difference between real guns and toy guns, but in 16% of unintentional firearm deaths among children younger than 13 years of age, the gun was mistaken for a toy.
Parents often believe their child would not touch a gun because “he knows better.” However, studies have found that most children will handle a gun if they find one, even if they have been taught not to.
Some parents consider non-powder guns, like BB, pellet, and paintball guns, to be toys. These guns, which can fire at the speed of traditional guns, lead to nearly 22,000 injuries each year, especially eye injuries.

https://www.nationwidechildrens.org/...ral/gun-safety

Firearms are the biggest cause of death in under 18s in the USA. That's a shocking fact...

In Todays Guardian

The Teacher put her hand out
the kid fired the gun,
it went through her hand into her chest,


The Gun came from his mother.

In the state of Virginia, it is not against the law
to leave your gun in an open place.


Ref: GBNewsHD Live Paper Review

Well it should be when LITTLE kids have ACCESS to it ! .

Yes no Locked Guns
proved to be dangerous in that State.

Well Virginia needs to change its laws Pronto