Abby Zwerner: Six-year-old who shot his teacher brought gun from home - BBC

The weapon a six-year-old kid utilized to sprout his teacher astatine a US schoolhouse was legally purchased by his mother, constabulary said.

In a quality league connected Monday, constabulary successful Virginia said the kid brought the weapon to schoolhouse successful his backpack.

Police said the kid intentionally changeable his teacher, identified arsenic 25-year-old Abigail 'Abby' Zwerner, during people connected Friday.

Ms Zwerner remains successful infirmary successful unchangeable condition.

Police successful Newport News, a metropolis of 180,000 radical northwest of Virginia Beach, said they spoke with the teacher earlier connected Monday.

"She is simply a trooper, she is simply a hero," said constabulary main Steve Drew, adding that Ms Zwerner has asked him repeatedly astir the well-being of her students who were wrong the schoolroom astatine the clip of the shooting.

Police received a telephone of a teacher being changeable astir 14:00 section clip (19:00 GMT) connected Friday astatine Richneck Elementary School. When they entered the classroom, they recovered a six-year-old pupil restrained by a schoolhouse employee.

Chief Drew said the kid fired 1 circular astatine his teacher. He added that the "shooting was not accidental, it was intentional," and that it took spot portion Ms Zwerner was giving a lesson.

Ms Zwerner was struck done her manus and into her precocious chest, Chief Drew said. She past made definite her students were safely extracurricular the classroom, earlier making her mode down to the schools' medication bureau to telephone for help, helium said.

"She turned astir to marque definite that each 1 of those students was safe," Chief Drew said.

Police said they recovered a 9mm Taurus pistol successful the schoolroom adjacent the student's desk, on with his backpack, a compartment telephone and 1 divided ammunition casing.

Chief Drew said constabulary determined done an interrogation with the child's parent that the weapon was bought legally and was stored successful the child's home.

The child, who has not been identified, was taken into custody and is undergoing valuation successful hospital, constabulary said, adding that they volition question a impermanent detention order.

Police are continuing to analyse the incident, Chief Drew said, including conducting much interviews with witnesses and section kid services.

Officials said that portion the schoolhouse - which has astir 550 pupils - had metallic detectors, pupils were checked astatine random and not each kid was inspected.

A pupil astatine the schoolhouse - Novah Jones, who is successful 5th people and was successful a antithetic schoolroom - described the infinitesimal her people was locked-down.

"We were doing maths… An announcer came on, she was like: 'Lockdown, I repetition lockdown,'" she told CNN.

"I was scared… It was similar my archetypal lockdown and I didn't cognize what to do, truthful I conscionable hid nether my table similar everybody was."

One parent, Steve Gonzalez, whose kid was contiguous successful the schoolroom astatine the time, said Ms Zwerner's actions were selfless.

After being struck by the bullet, "she screamed astatine her kids to tally away," helium told Fox News.

Shortly aft the shooting, students were evacuated to the school's gymnasium earlier they were reunited with their families. Chief Drew described tears and anxiousness from parents arsenic they awaited to spot their children.

The schoolhouse volition stay closed each week to springiness students and families "time to heal".