6-Year-Old Brought Gun From Home in Newport News School Shooting, Police Say - The New York Times

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Abigail Zwerner, 25, was successful the mediate of a regular acquisition astatine Richneck Elementary School past week when, suddenly, a azygous weapon changeable thrust her first-grade schoolroom into unit and chaos.

A lad successful her class, conscionable 6 years old, pulled retired a handgun astatine his desk, pointed it astatine his teacher and fired, the constabulary successful Newport News, Va., said.

The horrifying scene, elaborate by officials astatine a quality league connected Monday, followed what the authorities person described arsenic an highly uncommon and tragic situation: A young child brought a weapon from home, the constabulary said, and present stands accused successful a schoolhouse shooting.

When the changeable rang out, Ms. Zwerner threw up her manus successful beforehand of her body, but the slug went done her manus and struck her chest. Though severely wounded, she sent the students successful her class, arsenic galore arsenic 20 children, scrambling into the hallway, portion different worker rushed into the country and restrained the student, the authorities said. Only past did Ms. Zwerner stagger into the hallway and toward the bureau to find help. But first, the constabulary said, she paused and looked back.

“She turned astir to marque definite that each 1 of those students was safe,” said Steve Drew, the main of constabulary for the Newport News Police Department, who described Ms. Zwerner’s actions arsenic heroic and said she was successful unchangeable condition. “I judge she did prevention lives, due to the fact that I don’t cognize what other mightiness person happened.”

The authorities connected Monday offered the archetypal relationship of however the kid obtained the gun, saying that the weapon, a 9-millimeter Taurus handgun, came from his location and that it had been legally purchased by his mother.

“The kid had obtained that firearm, placed it successful his backpack and brought it to school,” Chief Drew said, citing interviews with the kid and his mother.

Even arsenic schoolhouse shootings become much common, it is exceptionally uncommon for a kid truthful young to beryllium accused, and the lawsuit has raised a big of analyzable questions. Virginia instrumentality prohibits leaving a loaded weapon wherever it is accessible to children nether 14, a transgression that is punishable arsenic a misdemeanor. But dissimilar immoderate different states, specified arsenic Oregon and Massachusetts, determination is not a wide instrumentality that requires each guns to beryllium safely stored successful homes.

Chief Drew said that immoderate imaginable charges would beryllium based connected “what the facts are and what the instrumentality supports.”

The kid is receiving attraction astatine a aesculapian facility, the authorities said, and his household has not been identified.

The antithetic shooting has reverberated astir the country, stirring acquainted fears successful an epoch of repeated schoolhouse shootings, portion raising new, analyzable questions astir however to guarantee information erstwhile adjacent the youngest children tin bring a weapon to school.

“We’ve addressed metallic detection, random searching and each kinds of different things astatine the secondary level,” said George Parker III, the superintendent of Newport News Public Schools. “I’ll beryllium honest, who would beryllium prepared for a 6-year-old to bring a loaded limb to schoolhouse and sprout their teacher?”

The absorption successful simple schools had been connected preventing big progressive shooters from entering classrooms, Mr. Parker said. But now, helium said, immoderate steps taken astatine precocious schools, similar metallic detectors, whitethorn request to beryllium explored.

“I hatred to beryllium astatine this constituent wherever I’m considering this, but we person to commencement relying connected those types of deterrence astatine the simple level arsenic well,” said Mr. Parker, who seemed distressed to adjacent beryllium reasoning astir specified measures.

“My committee members cognize however I consciousness astir making our schools look thing similar a prison,” helium added. “I privation our schools to beryllium large places to amended children.” But, helium said, “if we can’t support safety, oregon astatine slightest get to the constituent wherever we tin person an effectual and harmless schoolhouse day, kids won’t larn anyway.”

Many schoolhouse information measures are little communal astatine simple schools, national information shows.

Nearly 15 percent of precocious schools had random metallic detector checks, compared with little than 2 percent of simple schools successful the 2019-2020 schoolhouse year, the astir caller twelvemonth for which information was available, according to the National Center of Education Statistics. About 7 to 9 percent of mediate and precocious schools required backpacks to beryllium wide oregon banned them, compared with astir 2 percent of simple schools.

More than 80 percent of precocious schools reported employing at slightest 1 information unit member, compared with astir 55 percent of simple schools.

But experts caution that the “hardening” of schools is not reliably effectual astatine preventing weapon unit and tin impact students’ cognition of their safety.

“The probe consistently indicates that nary of the schoolhouse hardening procedures, including metallic detectors, forestall schoolhouse shootings,” Elizabeth Anthony, an subordinate prof astatine Arizona State University who studies schoolhouse information and kid trauma, said successful an email.

She noted that metallic detectors had been recovered to “reduce the magnitude of contraband, but not straight forestall weapon violence.”

The hardening of schools besides comes with sizeable risks, she added, including to Black and Hispanic children “who are already surveilled much often than their achromatic peers.”

Metal detectors and wide backpacks are much communal successful schools wherever a ample bulk of students are children of color, according to national data.

Richneck Elementary serves much than 550 students; much than fractional of them are Black and Hispanic, and astir a 4th are white. It listed a information serviceman connected its website.

“Several experts pointed to counseling and intelligence wellness enactment arsenic a amended concern for schools, and said officials indispensable besides look extracurricular of schools to forestall violence.”

Jagdish Khubchandani, a prof of nationalist wellness astatine New Mexico State University who has studied schoolhouse violence, pointed to research that recovered that children nether 10 were arsenic apt arsenic older children to cognize wherever guns were stored successful the home. Another study recovered that 70 percent of 5- to 6-year olds, and 90 percent of 7- to 8-year-olds had capable digit spot to propulsion the trigger.

“The children cognize wherever the guns are and however they are stored,” helium said.

There were inactive galore unknowns successful the Virginia case, including however precisely the weapon had gotten into the hands of the child, oregon however it had been stored.

Dan Semenza, the manager of interpersonal unit probe astatine the New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center astatine Rutgers University, said that the safest mode to forestall children from utilizing guns “is to not person a firearm successful the location of a child.”

Still, helium said, determination were ways to bounds entree adjacent with guns successful the home. “You are talking astir a weapon locker oregon a weapon safe, wherever the firearm is abstracted from the ammunition,” helium said. “Even much harmless would beryllium having immoderate benignant of fastener that is biometric,” helium added, truthful that lone a peculiar idiosyncratic could entree it, akin to utilizing look oregon digit exertion to log into a cellphone.

One effective, trusted spot to supply acquisition connected these information measures are pediatricians offices, which astir each families visit, helium said. “If the pediatrician feels comfy asking: ‘Do you person a firearm successful the house? Do you person entree to a harmless retention mechanism?’” helium said, adding, “It’s much preventative.”

The shooting astatine Richneck Elementary happened soon earlier 2 p.m. connected Friday, and unfolded quickly, with officers and medics responding successful a substance of minutes, according to the police. Ms. Zwerner was teaching erstwhile the lad fired the gun, the constabulary said. “There was nary carnal conflict oregon fight,” Chief Drew said connected Monday, clarifying an earlier relationship claiming that determination had been an altercation. Still, helium maintained that the shooting was “not accidental. It was intentional.”

Chief Drew said different schoolhouse worker came into the schoolroom astatine the dependable of the gunshot and “restrained that young antheral — that child, I should say.”

The lad struck the worker but did not occurrence different shot, the constabulary said. The gun, which inactive held bullets, was connected the level erstwhile the constabulary arrived.

In the beforehand office, schoolhouse officials were engaged ordering a schoolwide lockdown, having conscionable been told that a shooting had taken spot successful 1 of the first-grade classrooms, said Lowanda Sample-Rusk, 55, who was determination to prime up her 5- and 7-year-old grandchildren.

Before the bureau itself was locked, Ms. Zwerner showed up astatine the door.

“She said: ‘Call 911. I’ve been shot,’” Ms. Sample-Rusk recalled. “And past she fainted.” Ms. Sample-Rusk and others successful the bureau instantly ran to Ms. Zwerner and began administering archetypal aid, seeing humor connected Ms. Zwerner’s manus but trying to “find retired wherever the gunshot coiled was.”

They recovered that Ms. Zwerner had been changeable successful the chest, and Ms. Sample-Rusk applied unit to the coiled until the constabulary came.

John Eley III, a subordinate of the Newport News City Council, said that Ms. Zwerner was a well-respected pedagogue who “went beyond the telephone of work to marque definite each her children’s needs were met.” She comes from a household of educators, helium said.

“Everybody had thing but large things to accidental astir her, her enactment and her quality to beryllium a large teacher,” said Mr. Eley, who served for six years connected the Newport News School Board earlier becoming a City Council member.

A bid of schoolhouse shootings implicit little than 2 years successful Newport News has exacted a dense toll connected the community, Mr. Eley said. In September 2021, 2 17-year-olds were injured in a shooting astatine Heritage High School; 2 months later, a 17-year-old was killed outside Menchville High School.

“It’s conscionable tragic we’re having to woody with this each implicit again,” Mr. Eley said.

Speaking astatine the quality league connected Monday, Chief Drew seemed astatine a nonaccomplishment for words erstwhile asked however a 6-year-old lad knew to usage a firearm.

“That is simply a large question, and I privation we ne'er had to person it asked,” helium said. “I don’t cognize however to reply that.”

Eliza Fawcett and Tim Arango contributed reporting. Susan C. Beachy contributed research.