6-year-old showed gun to other student at recess and threatened to shoot him if he told on him

The attorney for the Newport News teacher Abby Zwerner, who police say was shot by her 6-year-old student, stated that the school administration were warned three times about the student potentially being armed hours before the shooting occurred.

Abby Zwerner, a teacher at Richneck Elementary School who is 25 years old and was allegedly shot by one of her students who is 6 years old on January 6, according to the police, had a lawyer who stated that school administrators had been warned three times about the student’s behavior and the possibility of the student being armed hours before the shooting occurred.

On Wednesday morning, a press conference was conducted in Virginia Beach by attorney Diane Tuscano. At the conference, she made the first public statement regarding the shooting that has been made by anybody related to the instructor since the incident took place.

In the statement, Zwerner herself claimed that administrators at Richneck School were aware of a student’s physical altercation with another student the morning of the shooting but were “unable to be bothered.”

Tuscano also said that a different teacher searched the youngster’s backpack on her own initiative after it was thought he might have a pistol. She then notified an official that they thought the boy had concealed the weapon in his jacket pocket before leaving for recess. According to reports, the administrator’s response was, “Well, he has little pockets.”

A third teacher allegedly alerted administrators after a youngster reported the 6-year-old threatened to shoot him if he reported the incident during playtime.

Tuscano stated that a fourth teacher who had heard about the problems with the teenager requested permission to search him for the pistol but was rejected and ordered to wait out the situation because the school day was almost finished.

Approximately one hour later, the shooting occurred.

“This tragedy could have been avoided totally if the school authorities responsible for school safety had done their part and acted when they became aware of an imminent threat. Instead, they did nothing, and Abby was shot “stated Tuscano.

She stated that she informed the Newport News School board of her intention to bring a lawsuit on behalf of Zwerner.

Newport News Police Chief Steve Drew has consistently described the incident as “deliberate,” stating that the youngster aimed at Zwerner and fired a single round into her chest, wounding her in the hand. A hospital representative stated that Zwerner was hospitalised for over two weeks and is now healing at home.

Superintendent George Parker III stated that at least one administrator was informed on the day of the shooting that the student may have been carrying a weapon, but no weapon was found in the student’s backpack after a search.

Police have stated that school administrators did not inform them of this tip prior to the shooting, which occurred hours later.

According to the authorities, the gun that was used in the incident was legally acquired by the boy’s mother. The boy’s relatives issued a statement saying that the rifle had been “secured” the previous week. The attorney for the family, James Ellenson, stated to the Associated Press that his understanding was that the gun was in the woman’s closet on a shelf that was well over 6 feet (1.8 metres) high and had a trigger lock that required a key. He also stated that he believed the gun had a trigger lock that required a key.

The youngster had a “acute impairment,” according to the family, and was under a care plan “that involved his mother or father visiting school with him and accompanying him to class every day,” according to the statement. The week of the shooting marked the first time he had attended class without a parent, according to the family.