Just before a 6-year-old boy shot his teacher in Virginia, there was no fight, no physical struggle and no warnings, authorities said.
“What we know for now is that he was teaching his class. She drew her gun, pointed it at the teacher and shot her once,” Newport News Police Chief Steve Drew said Monday.
Drew, speaking at a press conference, offered the first detailed description of a shooting that not only shocked the city, but was also remarkable in a country like the United States that seems accustomed to constant gun violence. Drew had previously claimed the shooting was not accidental and declined to elaborate.
The commissioner explained that he just wanted to clarify some comments he made in the immediate aftermath of Friday’s shooting, when he said there was an “alteration” prior to the shooting. Now he testified that it was more of an “interaction” between the boy and Abby Zwerner, 25, his first grade teacher at Richneck Elementary School.
But Drew also reiterated that the shooting “wasn’t accidental.”
“It was intentional,” he added.
Drew also revealed that the boy’s mother legally purchased the 9mm pistol her son fired and that the gun was in the family home. He added that the boy carried it to school in her backpack the day of the attack.
Seeing the gun, Professor Zwerner raised her hand defensively. Her bullet passed through her hand and entered her upper chest, Drew added. Although the injuries were initially considered life-threatening, she has improved and is now in stable condition in hospital.
Drew praised Zwerner, saying she was a hero, quickly leading her students out of the classroom after they were shot. She said surveillance video shows she was the last person to leave her living room.
“He turned right and started walking down the hall, and then stopped…He turned around and made sure every one of those students was safe,” Drew said.
The commissioner explained that a school employee rushed into the room after hearing the shot and physically restrained the boy. He said the boy got “a little combative” and hit the employee. The police arrived, took him out of the school and put him in a patrol car.
The boy has been held in a medical facility since emergency custody and temporary detention orders were issued Friday, Drew added. He said it will be up to a judge to determine what the next steps are for the child. He also said the boy’s mother was questioned by police, but it was unclear whether she could be charged.
When questions were raised about the boy and his mother, a friend of Zwerner’s told a crowd gathered at a vigil Monday night that the first grade teacher has shown “dedication and love for what he does day in and day out.”
“Abby is a warrior and shows mental and physical strength every day,” said Rosalie List, a second grade teacher in Richneck. “I’m very proud of her.”
Lauren Palladini, Richneck’s school counselor, told the crowd that Zwerner is “sweet, thoughtful and thoughtful. She was one of the most amazing teachers I’ve been lucky enough to interact with.”
Amanda Bartley, who teaches at another elementary school in the city, asked everyone to pray for Zwerner and to “pray for the boy who did this.”
As Bartley handed out candles before the vigil, he told the Associated Press he organized the event to support Zwerner and encourage others. However, she admitted, many questions remain unanswered.
Among them: “How did he get the gun? Why wasn’t he locked up? A good gun owner knows that you should keep your gun locked away. Leave the insurance alone. Keep ammo separate from the gun itself.
Gun owners can be prosecuted under a Virginia law that prohibits a person from negligently leaving a loaded, unprotected firearm in a way that endangers the life or limb of a person under the age of at 14 years old. Violating this law is a misdemeanor, punishable by a maximum sentence of one year in prison and a maximum fine of $2,500.
Virginia does not have a law that requires unattended guns to be stored in any particular way or a law that requires gun owners to keep their guns locked up.
“Virginia definitely has a weaker law than many other states that have laws to keep children from accessing them,” said Allison Anderman, senior counsel and director of local policy at the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.
Legal experts admit that while it is theoretically possible under Virginia law to criminally charge a 6-year-old, there are numerous hurdles to doing so and a prosecutor is highly unlikely to attempt it.
To be tried as an adult in Virginia, a minor must be at least 14 years old. A 6-year-old is also too young to be taken into custody by the Department of Juvenile Justice if convicted. Furthermore, a legal doctrine known as the “defense of childhood” holds that children under the age of 7 cannot be prosecuted for a felony, because they are so young that they are thought to be incapable of criminal intent.
A judge would also have to determine whether the child is fit to stand trial, which means he can understand the legal proceedings against him and help him in his own defense, explained Andrew Block, a professor at the University of Virginia School of Law, who was director of the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice from 2014 to 2019.
“It’s virtually impossible to imagine a 6-year-old being judged fit to stand trial,” Block added.
Julie E. McConnell, a law professor at the University of Richmond who has worked juvenile justice cases for more than 25 years, said prosecutors can file what is known as a “Child in need of care, who is being used in cases where the behavior or condition of the minor presents or involves a serious threat to his well-being and physical safety.
A judge would then have a variety of options, including: ordering services such as counseling or anger management; allow the child to stay with his parents, under certain conditions; directing parents to participate in programs or cooperate with treatment; or transfer custody of the child to a relative, a child welfare agency or a local community service center.
