The United States was shaken after a six-year-old student shot his teacher. This incident comes right in the middle of growing mass shootings from clubs, Walmarts, and especially in schools. The 25-year-old teacher, Abby Zwerner, suffered life-threatening injuries. The shooting took place at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia, when the first-grade class had just finished reading. They were heading to an art class when the youngster pulled out the handgun and pulled the trigger. The six-year-old mother explained the incident.
Brittaney Gregory said, “She was going to confiscate it, and that’s when he shot.” The rest of the students who were at risk were taken into another classroom for safety and remained in lockdown. Andrew Block, associate professor at the University of Virginia School of Law, explained that the child won’t likely be charged with any crime. Block said, “As a practical matter, it would be next to impossible to prosecute a six-year-old, no matter how serious.”
Block further said, “The bigger barrier, presuming the prosecution could overcome that, is all defendants have to be competent to stand trial. That means you have to understand the nature of legal proceedings against you and assist in your own defense. There’s no way a six-year-old would meet that criteria. The juvenile justice system would not be equipped to handle such a young kid. There’s way more we don’t know than we do. I can’t imagine what it’s like to be the teacher or teacher’s family; it’s horrible in every single direction.”
6yr old shoots school teacher in Virginia
Till now, how or when the little boy got a hold of the deadly weapon has not been clarified. Newport News mayor Phillip Jones addressed the news. Jones said, “We are ensuring he has all the services that he currently needs right now.” He addressed the first US school shooting of 2023. Jones continued, “I do think that after this event, there is going to be a nationwide discussion on how these sorts of things can be prevented. Regarding the teacher’s health, Jones said that she is “trending in a positive direction.”
Brittaney talked about the teacher as well. She said, “She’s such a sweet lady. She’s very attentive to the kids.” Brittaney talked about the aftermath that the shooting had on her son. She said, “He normally sleeps in his own room but the night of the shooting he came into my room. He was talking in his sleep, saying we got to get out of here. He’s normally a talker, but he stumbled over his words. I was so relieved. But you could tell on his face what he was going through. He was a deer in the headlights.”
