Abby Zwerner was described as an ‘amazing’ and ‘dedicated’ teacher (Picture: Facebook/Abby Zwerner)
Abby Zwerner was described as an ‘amazing’ and ‘dedicated’ teacher (Picture: Facebook/Abby Zwerner)

A first-grade teacher who police say was deliberately shot in the chest by a six-year-old boy has been named as Abby Zwerner.

Investigators say the child got into an ‘altercation’ with the victim before shooting her in a classroom at Richneck Elemtary School in Newport News, Virginia.

The teacher, believed to be in her 30s, is said to have ‘screamed at her kids to run away’ after the pupil fired a single bullet, according to parent Sebastian Gonzalez-Hernandez, whose six-year-old son was in the classroom.

‘Even after she’d been shot she was thinking about the safety of her children,’ he told DailyMail.com.

‘She is an amazing teacher, so dedicated. My son absolutely loves her, and we’re devastated about what’s happened. We are all thinking of her and hoping that she gets better soon.’

Ms Zwerner was rushed to hospital for surgery and remains in a critical condition following the shooting at around 2pm on Friday.

A six year-old boy has been taken into custody after he allegedly deliberately shot his first-grade teacher at his Virginia elementary school, leaving her critically-ill. Newport News Police have taken a student, who has not been publicly identified, into custody. The unidentified female teacher, who is in her 30s, was reportedly shot in the stomach and has been was taken to Riverside Regional Medical Center. 'The individual is a six-year-old student and is right now in police custody,' Newport News Chief Scott Drew said at a press conference on Friday. 'This was not an accidental shooting. 'It was in a classroom, an altercation took place there,' he said. 'We did not have a situation where someone was going around the school shooting. We had a situation in one particular location where a gunshot was fired.' The incident unfolded at Richneck Elementary School, a school for kids aged five to nine, just before 2pm. No children were harmed and police are working to figure out how the child had access to the gun. A grandmother of one of the students told DailyMail.com that a student brought 'shiny gold bullets' to school last week, but it is unclear if it is the same child who was taken into custody today. A crowd of parents waited outside Richneck Elementary School after the 2pm shooting where a six-year-old allegedly shot his teacher on purpose after an 'altercation' +6 View gallery A crowd of parents waited outside Richneck Elementary School after the 2pm shooting where a six-year-old allegedly shot his teacher on purpose after an 'altercation' The shooting occurred in the classroom and was an isolated incident. Officers are still trying to determine how to managed to get the weapon. +6 View gallery The shooting occurred in the classroom and was an isolated incident. Officers are still trying to determine how to managed to get the weapon. The grandmother, who asked not to be named, said the child had allegedly 'brought bullets to school last week and said he would bring his gun.' 'A parent told the school they did nothing, now look,' she wrote on Facebook. Speaking to DailyMail.com, she said: 'The parents outside stated that their child told them a kid brought golden shiny bullets to school and was thinking about bringing his gun. The student told the parent, who informed the school. And the school just yesterday got back to the parent saying the parent of the kid said it was a nerf bullet and the parent said nerf bullets aren't shiny and gold.'
The unnamed six-year-old child was said to have got into an ‘altercation’ before shooting Zwerner (Picture: Facebook/Abby Zwerner)

Police are trying to find out how the first-grader got hold of a gun, confirming that he was the one who pulled the trigger.

‘This was not an accidental shooting,’ Newport News Chief Steve Drew told a press conference on Friday.

‘It was in a classroom, an altercation took place there. We did not have a situation where someone was going around the school shooting. We had a situation in one particular location where a gunshot was fired.’

A grandmother of one of the pupils claims a child at the school had brought bullets to school and talked about bringing a gun next, although she wasn’t certain it was the same boy.

Superintendent George Parker said the school is able to use metal detectors on pupils, although it doesn’t perform the test routinely.

Police vehicles are seen parked outside Richneck Elementary School, where according to the police, a six-year-old boy shot and wounded a teacher, in Newport News, Virginia, U.S., January 6, 2023, in this screen grab from a handout video. WVEC via ABC/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY NEW ZEALAND OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN NEW ZEALAND. UNITED STATES OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN UNITED STATES. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES. MANDATORY CREDIT. DO NOT OBSCURE LOGO.
Police rushed to the scene at Richneck Elementary School on Friday (Picture: Reuters)

‘When we have a perceived threat or issue, we do random metal detection on those days,’ he told a press conference.

‘Today, our students got a lesson in gun violence,’ Parker said. ‘We need to keep the guns out of the hands of our young people.’

A British parent of one of the students, told WTKR: ‘Guns, that’s the biggest problem in this country. Why is there a seven-year-old [sic] with a bloody gun? … How does a seven-year-old have a gun?

‘I’m only here because my husband is in the military. Otherwise, I would not have chosen to come to this country.’  

A parent of a fourth-grade student said she received a text from the school informing her that the shooting had happened and that the suspect was in custody.

A six year-old boy has been taken into custody after he allegedly deliberately shot his first-grade teacher at his Virginia elementary school, leaving her critically-ill. Newport News Police have taken a student, who has not been publicly identified, into custody. The unidentified female teacher, who is in her 30s, was reportedly shot in the stomach and has been was taken to Riverside Regional Medical Center. 'The individual is a six-year-old student and is right now in police custody,' Newport News Chief Scott Drew said at a press conference on Friday. 'This was not an accidental shooting. 'It was in a classroom, an altercation took place there,' he said. 'We did not have a situation where someone was going around the school shooting. We had a situation in one particular location where a gunshot was fired.' The incident unfolded at Richneck Elementary School, a school for kids aged five to nine, just before 2pm. No children were harmed and police are working to figure out how the child had access to the gun. A grandmother of one of the students told DailyMail.com that a student brought 'shiny gold bullets' to school last week, but it is unclear if it is the same child who was taken into custody today. A crowd of parents waited outside Richneck Elementary School after the 2pm shooting where a six-year-old allegedly shot his teacher on purpose after an 'altercation' +6 View gallery A crowd of parents waited outside Richneck Elementary School after the 2pm shooting where a six-year-old allegedly shot his teacher on purpose after an 'altercation' The shooting occurred in the classroom and was an isolated incident. Officers are still trying to determine how to managed to get the weapon. +6 View gallery The shooting occurred in the classroom and was an isolated incident. Officers are still trying to determine how to managed to get the weapon. The grandmother, who asked not to be named, said the child had allegedly 'brought bullets to school last week and said he would bring his gun.' 'A parent told the school they did nothing, now look,' she wrote on Facebook. Speaking to DailyMail.com, she said: 'The parents outside stated that their child told them a kid brought golden shiny bullets to school and was thinking about bringing his gun. The student told the parent, who informed the school. And the school just yesterday got back to the parent saying the parent of the kid said it was a nerf bullet and the parent said nerf bullets aren't shiny and gold.'
Ms Zwerner was rushed to hospital for surgery and remains in a critical condition (Picture: Facebook/Abby Zwerner)

Joselin Glover told the Daily Press: ‘My heart stopped. I was freaking out, very nervous. Just wondering if that one person was my son.’

The Uvalde Foundation For Kids, a charity set up after the May 2022 shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde Texas, said the latest incident shows that more work is needed to protect America’s schools.

It said in a statement: ‘Today’s incident highlights, yet again, the need to prioritize in this nation, the protection of our schools, our students and the communities who care for them.

‘Yet again, in another school in this nation; students are facing fear – instead of joy; lessons in violence – instead of peace. UNTIL those lessons change, our work continues.’

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