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WASHINGTON – A United States primary school was warned that a 6-year-old student who shot his teacher might have a gun, but they did not find it in a search of his backpack, local authorities said yesterday.
In a case that stunned Americans increasingly accustomed to gun violence, the student apparently hid the weapon elsewhere before he shot the teacher in Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia on January 6.
His teacher Abigail Zwerner, 25, was seriously injured but survived the attack, and no other students were wounded.
School superintendent George Packer told parents Thursday that an administrator had been informed of the possibility of a gun in the boy’s possession, according to Michelle Price, spokesman for the city’s schools.
Parker told them “that the 6-year-old student’s backpack was searched by a school staff member after it was reported that the student may have a weapon. No weapon was found,” Price said.
Parker did not say how the school learned about the weapon, a 9 mm Taurus, a handgun popular for personal protection.
Kelly King, a spokesman for the Newport News police, said that a school employee was notified of a possible firearm at the school before the shooting occurred.
She said police were not informed of the gun before the incident.
The boy, whose identity has been protected, was taken into custody and placed into medical care.
Because of his age, charges are not likely, even if officials call the shooting intentional.
His parents could face charges for allowing the child access to a gun. – AFP, January 14, 2023
