Virginia, United States.- Last Friday, Abigail Zwerner was in the middle of a routine lesson at Richneck Elementary School when a boy in her class, just 6 years old, pulled a gun from his desk, pointed it directly at her and fired.
At a press conference yesterday, authorities said it was not an accident and that it appeared to have been an intentional shooting. The boy brought a gun from home.
As the shot was fired, Zwerner raised his hand, but the bullet went through and struck his chest. Although she was critically injured, she led the students out of the classroom as another employee rushed into the classroom and grabbed the 6-year-old boy, authorities said.
Only then did the 25-year-old Zwerner struggle to the hallway for help. But first, he paused and looked back.
“She turned around to make sure all the students were safe,” said Newport News Police Chief Steve Drew, who described Zwerner’s actions as heroic and said the teacher is in stable condition.
“I think it did save lives, because I don’t know what else could have happened.”
Authorities yesterday offered the first account of how the boy obtained the gun, saying the pistol, a 9mm Taurus, came from his home, and that his mother had purchased it legally.
“The boy took that firearm, put it in his backpack and brought it to school,” Drew said, citing interviews with the boy and his mother.
He added that any potential charges would be based on “what are the facts and what the law supports.”
The child is receiving treatment at a medical facility. His family has not been identified.
The unusual shooting has reverberated across the country, raising familiar fears in an era of repeated school shootings, while raising difficult new questions about how to ensure safety when even the youngest children can bring a gun to school.
“We’ve tackled metal detecting, random searching and all kinds of other things at the secondary level,” said George Parker III, superintendent of Newport News Public Schools.
“I’ll be honest, who would be prepared for a scenario where a 6-year-old brings a loaded gun to school and shoots his teacher?”
