Virginia elementary school remains closed through Friday to give students 'time to heal' after shooting - CNN

CNN  — 

An simple schoolhouse successful Virginia volition beryllium closed this week to springiness students “time to heal” aft a 6-year-old lad allegedly shot and injured a teacher determination Friday, the schoolhouse announced.

Less than a week into the caller twelvemonth officers swarmed the Richneck Elementary field successful Newport News – which inactive had a “Happy New Year” motion extracurricular – and took the kid into custody.

The lad changeable the teacher successful a schoolroom and it was “not an accidental shooting,” Police Chief Steve Drew said. The lad remained successful constabulary custody arsenic of Friday.

Before the changeable rang retired determination had been an altercation betwixt the teacher and the pupil who had the firearm, Drew said. A azygous circular was fired and nary different students were involved, helium added.

“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.

The teacher, whose wounded was initially described arsenic life-threatening, was listed successful unchangeable information by Saturday, according to the Newport News Police Department.

The teacher was archetypal identified by her alma mater, James Madison University, arsenic Abby Zwerner.

The simple schoolhouse had an exigency program successful spot that allowed for contiguous aesculapian attraction for the injured teacher, Newport News Public Schools Superintendent George Parker said.

“While nary magnitude of readying tin warrant that a calamity specified arsenic this volition not occur; delight cognize that our corporate efforts and mentation resulted successful contiguous aesculapian attraction for our module member, nary injuries to students, and a harmless and businesslike reunification process for our families and students,” Parker said.

As the probe continues and constabulary probe however the young lad gained entree to a firearm and what led up to the shooting, assemblage members are grappling with what happened.

“It’s a precise hard happening to process,” Newport News Mayor Phillip Jones told CNN connected Sunday. “The information that we person a 6-year-old idiosyncratic with the quality to bring a weapon into schoolhouse and harm his teacher – thing that we’re inactive grappling with.”

The politician would not remark connected the child’s household oregon their engagement with the investigation.

“There’s a batch of questions that we person to reply arsenic a community,” the politician added. “Up with, however a 6-year-old was capable to person a gun, cognize however to usage it successful specified a deliberate mode … The individuals liable volition beryllium held accountable. I tin committedness that.”

Shootings successful US schools 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.

After Friday’s shooting, students astatine the schoolhouse described the harrowing infinitesimal the lockdown was called. “We were doing mathematics … an announcer came on, she was like, ‘Lockdown, I repetition lockdown,’” said 5th grader Novah Jones, who was 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 astatine archetypal believed determination was a antheral with a weapon astatine the school, she said successful a CNN interrogation with her and her mother.

“I was reasoning that … a antheral was going to sprout us,” Novah said.

Parents hurried to the country arsenic quality dispersed of the shooting, surviving done a nightmare families of students astatine truthful galore different American schools person shared.

When Mark Anthony Garcia recovered retired astir the shooting, helium raced to the school, wherever his lad is successful 2nd grade.

“There was constabulary helicopters everyplace outside, postulation was jammed up,” helium told “CNN This Morning” connected Monday. “Then determination was a 2-mile radius cordoned disconnected of parked cars and radical running, trying to really get to the scene.”

Garcia’s son, Mark Jr., said his teacher heard the shooting and shepherded his people backmost to their classroom, “and past erstwhile we got there, we each stayed quiet.”

“Two radical were crying,” helium said. “And erstwhile the cops came, we were marching to the gym.”

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, the constabulary main told CNN affiliate WTKR.

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.

Licensed therapists are disposable to assistance parents with tips for talking with children, counseling services and assets referrals, Richneck Elementary said successful an update connected its website.