1 year ago
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CNN —
As constabulary analyse the circumstances that led to a 6-year-old lad allegedly shooting and injuring a teacher astatine Richneck Elementary School successful Newport News, Virginia, Friday, a pupil astatine the schoolhouse described the harrowing infinitesimal the lockdown was called.
“We were doing mathematics … an announcer came connected she was like, ‘lockdown, I repetition lockdown,’” said 5th grader Novah Jones, who was located successful a antithetic classroom. “I was frightened … it was similar my archetypal lockdown and I didn’t cognize what to do, truthful I conscionable hid nether my table similar everybody was.”
Novah told CNN successful an interrogation with her and her parent that she archetypal believed determination was a antheral with a weapon astatine the school.
“I was reasoning that … a antheral was going to sprout us,” Novah said.
The teacher wounded successful Friday’s shooting, whose wounded was initially described arsenic life-threatening, was listed successful unchangeable information by Saturday, according to the Newport News Police Department.
Authorities and the Newport News nationalist schoolhouse territory did not sanction the teacher, but her alma mater, James Madison University, identified her arsenic Abby Zwerner.
The 6-year-old lad was taken into constabulary custody, Police Chief Steve Drew said successful a quality conference, adding that “this was not an accidental shooting.”
There had been an altercation betwixt the teacher and the student, who had the firearm, Drew said. A azygous circular was fired and nary different students were involved, helium added.
Following the shooting, each students astatine the schoolhouse were evacuated from their classrooms with their teachers and taken to the gymnasium, wherever they were with counselors and officers, Drew told CNN affiliate WTKR.
The shooting came conscionable six days into the caller year, with constabulary swarming a field that inactive had a “Happy New Year” motion outside.
As officers rushed to the school, Novah texted her mother, telling her determination was a lockdown. “I texted her ‘Mom, help.’”
After receiving the text, “I couldn’t respire I was successful shock,” her mother, Kasheba Jones, said.
Though she was capable to instrumentality location safely, Novah said she had occupation sleeping that night, disquieted that “he inactive had the weapon and helium was going to travel to my house.”
“I had similar flashbacks,” Novah said.
Novah is 1 of galore children to grapple with the trauma of a shooting astatine school. Shootings successful US schools, portion inactive uncommon erstwhile compared with different incidents of weapon violence, person go far much common than they are successful immoderate different country. In 2022, determination were astatine slightest 60 shootings astatine K-12 schools, according to a CNN analysis.
As the probe continues, the simple schoolhouse volition stay closed Monday and Tuesday to springiness the assemblage “time to heal,” Principal Briana Foster Newton said successful a statement.
Meanwhile, assemblage members are grappling with the property of the suspect.
Novah said she’s struggling to recognize however idiosyncratic truthful young could person a weapon oregon propulsion the trigger.
Her parent echoed those questions.
“First of all, wherever did helium get a weapon from and however did helium cognize however to purpose it and sprout it?” Jones said.
Investigators volition look into however the kid obtained the firearm, said Drew.
“It is astir intolerable to wrapper our minds astir the information that a 6 twelvemonth aged 1st grader brought a loaded handgun to schoolhouse and changeable a teacher; however, this is precisely what our assemblage is grappling with today,” Newport News Mayor Phillip D. Jones said successful a statement posted connected Twitter.
Authorities are “working diligently to get an reply to the question we are each asking – however did this happen? We are besides moving to guarantee the kid receives the supports and services helium needs arsenic we proceed to process what took place,” Jones said.
“We person been successful interaction with our commonwealth lawyer and immoderate different entities to assistance america champion get services to this young man,” Drew said Friday.
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