Deleted:Shooting of Abby Zwerner

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Coordinates: 37°9′23.68″N 76°31′25.27″W / 37.1565778°N 76.5236861°W / 37.1565778; -76.5236861{{#coordinates:37|9|23.68|N|76|31|25.27|W|

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Template:Infobox civilian attack On January 6, 2023, American school teacher Abby Zwerner was shot and injured by a six-year-old boy that she was teaching in her classroom at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia, United States. The student had brought to school a 9mm semi-automatic pistol belonging to his mother in his backpack.

The shooting provoked conversations about the culpability of very young shooters and comparisons with the 2000 Killing of Kayla Rolland by a six-year-old school student.

Background

Abigail "Abby" Zwerner[1] is a 25-year-old first grade[2] school teacher, employed at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia.[3][4]

File:Newport News- High Res (33492446543).jpg
Richneck Elementary School students in 2019

Richneck Elementary School is an elementary school in Newport News with 550 students.[1] The school was equipped with metal detectors at the time of the shooting, which was randomly used to screen students.[1]

Prior to the shooting, staff was alerted that a 6-year-old student may have brought a firearm to the school.[5] The boy's bag was then searched, but no weapon was found.[5]

Shooting

During a routine lesson,[6] at approximately 2 p.m. local time on January 6, 2023,[1] a six-year-old male student shot Zwerner with a 9mm Taurus pistol.[1] The bullet first passed through her hand and then struck her upper chest.[1] Police reported that the shooting was intentional.[1] Police report that there was no struggle or warning given prior to the gun being discharged.[7] The gun was legally owned by the child's mother[1] and brought to the school in the student's backpack.[8]

Immediately after being shot, Zwerner escorted her class out of the classroom and away from the shooter[9] while another staff member, according to police, restrained the shooter until police took him into juvenile detention.[7]

The shooting was the first U.S. school shooting of 2023,[3] but the third incidence of gun violence in Newport News Public School district in seventeen months.[2] The shooting is one of sixteen U.S. school shootings perpetrated by shooters under the age of ten years since 1970.[10]

Aftermath

Zwerner's injuries were initially described as life-threatening, although her condition improved and she was described as "stable" on January 8, 2023[11] and released from hospital in mid-January 2023.[12] The child shooter was arrested and remained in a healthcare facility as of January 13, 2023. Because of the child's young age, his name has not been identified.[5] On January 13, police stated they did not know about the tip that the shooter was armed prior to the shooting.[13] Richneck Elementary School remained closed during the subsequent week.[1]

Phillip Jones, the mayor of Newport News, described the shooting as "a red flag for our country" also saying "“I do think that after this event, there is going to be a nationwide discussion on how these sorts of things can be prevented.”[3] Professor and gun violence expert Daniel Webster of Johns Hopkins University stated that gun violence by children was increasing in frequency.[3]

American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten called for government action to prevent guns from being taken into schools: “When will the shock of gunshots in school be enough to inspire the action necessary to prevent guns in schools and the shattering of lives it causes?”[10] Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence lawyer Allison Anderman criticized Virginia for not having laws requiring guns to be securely stored.[10] Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin shared his belief that Virginia had "some of the toughest gun laws in the nation" and spoke of a need for tougher criminal sentencing and improved mental health care.[10] The shooting sparked conversations about the legal culpability of very young children, and comparisons to the February 2000 Killing of Kayla Rolland when a six-year-old boy fatally shot Rolland at a Michigan school. [14] The 2000 shooter was not prosecuted due to his age.[14] In an NBC News opinion piece, clinical psychologist Joan M. Cook emphasized the limitations of children's moral development and cognition of events and called for compassion to be extended to the shooter, and for the provision of care and rehabilitation, as opposed to incarceration.[15]

Later in January, the parent's of the 6-year-old shooter released an anonymised statement via their attorney that stated that he suffered from an acute disability.[12]

See also

Portal icon Virginia portal
Portal icon Law portal
Portal icon Schools portal

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 "Abby Zwerner: Six-year-old who shot his teacher brought gun from home". BBC News. 2023-01-09. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64210387. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Virginia school district where 6-year-old allegedly shot teacher has had 3 school-related shootings in 17 months". NBC News. 2023-01-08. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/virginia-school-district-6-year-old-allegedly-shot-teacher-three-schoo-rcna64638. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Edward Helmore (2023-01-08). "Virginia shooting of teacher by six-year-old ‘not accidental’, authorities say". The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jan/08/virginia-teacher-shooting-by-six-year-old. 
  4. ↑ "Newport News: Condition of teacher shot by child improving". BBC News. 2023-01-08. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64200873. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Newport News: Staff was alerted six-year-old may have had a weapon". BBC News. 2023-01-13. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64252261. 
  6. ↑ Paul Bibeau; Sarah Mervosh; Tim Arango (2023-01-07). "6-Year-Old Brought Gun From Home in Newport News School Shooting, Police Say". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/09/us/newport-news-teacher-shooting.html. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Ben Finley; Denise Lavoie (2023-01-10). "Six-year-old shot Virginia teacher during a class lesson, police chief says". The Globe and Mail. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-six-year-old-shot-virginia-teacher-during-class-lesson-police-chief/. 
  8. ↑ "6-year-old who allegedly shot Va. teacher used gun legally purchased by mom, police say". Washington Post. 2023-01-09. ISSN 0190-8286. https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/01/09/richneck-elementary-school-teacher-abigail-zwerner/. 
  9. ↑ Kayla Epstein (2023-01-10). "Virginia teacher who was shot by 6-year-old students to safety.". NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/wounded-virginia-teacher-walked-students-safety-was-shot-6-year-old-of-rcna64938. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Paul Bibeau; Sarah Mervosh; Tim Arango (2023-01-07). "After 6-Year-Old Is Accused in School Shooting, Many Questions and a Murky Legal Path". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/07/us/virginia-shooting-richneck-elementary.html. 
  11. ↑ "Teacher shot by 6-year-old hailed a hero for helping pupils flee". The Independent. 2023-01-08. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/abby-zwerner-teacher-shot-virginia-b2257939.html. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Brian Todd; Steve Almasy; Michelle Watson (2023-01-19). "Teacher allegedly shot by 6-year-old released from the hospital as child's family sends condolences, says the gun was secured". CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/19/us/virginia-school-shooting/index.html. 
  13. ↑ "Six-year-old Virginia boy’s backpack was searched before he shot his teacher". the Guardian. 2023-01-13. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jan/13/virginia-teacher-shooting-abigail-zwerner-child-backpack-searched. 
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Newport News: What happens to a six-year-old who shoots someone?". BBC News. 2023-01-10. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64218521. 
  15. ↑ Joan M. Cook (11 Jan 2023). "Opinion | The 6-year-old accused of shooting his teacher shouldn’t be punished under the law". NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/6-year-old-shoots-teacher-virginia-can-rehabilitated-rcna65144. 

Template:School shootings in the United States

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