School Searched 6-Year-Old’s Backpack Before Newport News Shooting, Officials Say - The New York Times

On the time that a first-grade teacher was shot successful her classroom past week, a schoolhouse employee, acting connected a tip, searched the backpack of a 6-year-old lad to cheque for a gun, according to territory officials successful Newport News, Va.

No limb was found, schoolhouse territory officials said, adjacent arsenic the constabulary person accused the kid of shooting his teacher astatine Richneck Elementary School aboriginal that afternoon.

The quality that an worker had searched the backpack raised questions astir the adequacy of the school’s response, successful a lawsuit that has already drawn important attraction due to the fact that of the child’s young age, which has brought a caller level of interest to the charged statement implicit guns and schoolhouse safety.

The territory superintendent archetypal shared the accusation astatine a virtual gathering connected Thursday for parents, which was reported by WAVY-TV, a section tv station.

“At slightest 1 head was notified of a imaginable weapon,” the superintendent told parents, according to WAVY-TV.

A spokeswoman for the Newport News nationalist schoolhouse district, Michelle Price, confirmed connected Friday that the child’s backpack had been searched by a unit subordinate “after it was reported that the pupil whitethorn person a weapon.”

But the extremity was not relayed to the Newport News Police Department earlier the shooting, the constabulary said successful a connection connected Friday.

Much is inactive chartless astir the timeline of events connected Jan. 6, and what precisely happened betwixt the boy’s accomplishment astatine schoolhouse and the shooting astir 2 p.m. It is unclear who notified the employee, what accusation was disposable oregon what benignant of hunt was conducted.

At a quality league connected Monday, the constabulary said the lad had retrieved the handgun — legally purchased by his parent — from home, enactment it successful his backpack and brought it to school.

Abigail Zwerner, the teacher, was successful the mediate of a regular acquisition successful her first-grade schoolroom when, the authorities said, the lad abruptly pulled retired the weapon and aimed it astatine her.

At the clip of the shooting, “the firearm was displayed from his person, not from his backpack,” said Steve Drew, the main of constabulary successful Newport News.

A azygous slug pierced Ms. Zwerner, 25, who was earnestly injured but has been recovering astatine a hospital. Virginia instrumentality prohibits leaving a loaded weapon wherever it is accessible to children nether 14, but successful opposition to immoderate different states, specified arsenic Oregon and Massachusetts, determination is not a wide instrumentality that requires each guns to beryllium safely stored successful homes.

Mark Anthony Garcia Sr., 38, the begetter of a 2nd grader astatine Richneck Elementary, said that his “heart fell” during the virtual gathering connected Thursday nighttime erstwhile the superintendent said the schoolhouse had been alert of a imaginable limb successful the building. According to Mr. Garcia, the superintendent said that the child’s backpack had been searched erstwhile the kid arrived astatine schoolhouse astir 11:30 a.m., astir 2 and a fractional hours earlier the shooting.

“There’s a batch of unanswered questions present and missed opportunities for information for each — not conscionable students, for everyone successful that building,” helium said.

As successful galore different schoolhouse shootings, the lawsuit has renewed speech astir children’s intelligence wellness and schoolhouse security. Schools person besides travel under scrutiny for their responses earlier attacks, such arsenic successful the 2021 shooting astatine Oxford High School successful Michigan. In that case, a student, Ethan Crumbley, pleaded blameworthy to sidesplitting 4 students and injuring 7 different people. After a teacher observed convulsive drawings successful class, and his parents declined to instrumentality him home, helium remained successful school. His belongings were not searched.

School officials successful Newport News person rapidly moved to instal metallic detectors astatine each schoolhouse buildings, a strategy that has stirred statement but has besides grown much fashionable arsenic schoolhouse shootings person go much common.

Six percent of nationalist schools reported utilizing metallic detectors for each oregon astir students connected a regular basis, according to a caller survey by the National Center for Education Statistics, up from 2 percent successful the 2017-18 schoolhouse year. Nine percent of nationalist schools reported random metallic detector use, up from 5 percent 5 years ago. The maturation comes arsenic different information measures — specified arsenic panic buttons and locked schoolroom doors — person besides become much common.

“Metal detectors are conscionable 1 strategy,” said James Fedderman, the president of the Virginia Education Association, the state’s teachers union. He pointed to different tactics, specified arsenic locking doors and installing information cameras, and urged a absorption connected intelligence wellness and struggle resolution.

Experts accidental that the champion clip to halt a shooting connected schoolhouse grounds is earlier a weapon ever makes its mode to campus, specified arsenic by intervening with immoderate students who amusement aboriginal signs of distress oregon violence.

Metal detectors and immoderate different surveillance strategies person drawn disapproval for not reliably preventing shootings, portion besides negatively affecting students of color. Nationally, the devices are much apt to beryllium utilized successful schools with a precocious percent of nonwhite students. As of the 2017-18 schoolhouse year, Newport News Public Schools served astir 28,000 students, much than fractional of them Black and astir a 4th of them white, with smaller shares of Hispanic and Asian students.

“I hatred to beryllium astatine this constituent wherever I’m considering this,” George Parker III, the superintendent of Newport News Public Schools, said astatine the Monday quality conference, adding, “My committee members cognize however I consciousness astir making our schools look thing similar a prison.”

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.”

Mr. Garcia said that helium supported the usage of metallic detectors successful schools but that helium besides wanted to spot different information measures successful place, including wide backpacks and much information guards.

His 8-year-old lad is excessively young to afloat recognize what happened astatine his school, helium said, and wants to spot his friends again.

“But helium tells me, ‘Dad, I’m not definite if I’m acceptable to spell backmost to that school,’” helium said. “And I told him the lone happening we tin bash successful this concern is try. You person to marque the effort to fto them hole the problem.”

Campbell Robertson contributed reporting.