The town of Newport News in Virginia is no exception, now dealing with the followingmath of a school shooting.
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• Read also: A 6-year-old boy deliberately shot his teacher
This time, however, the alleged shooter is only 6 years old, according to CNN. Authorities said the child opened fire in a classroom at Richneck Elementary School and injured a teacher.
The alleged shooter’s age has left a community and the country reeling from the possibility that a first-grader got a gun, brought it to school and opened fire in class.
Authorities have provided background information regarding the shooting, but many questions remain unanswered. In particular, how a 6-year-old child might have had a firearm in his possession and what the potential legal repercussions might be for the student or his parents.
The child was quickly apprehended by officers following the shooting, Police Chief Steve Drew said.
Following the shooting, the boy was transported to a hospital for evaluation.
The Newport News police chief told him the shooting was not accidental.
“There was no physical wrestling or fighting,” he told CNN.
Police received the call that a teacher had been shot at 1:59 p.m., CNN has learned. When officers entered the classroom five minutes later, the boy was physically restrained by a school employee, police said. He got combative and punched the employee holding him down. Officers escorted him out of the building and into a police cruiser.
The weapon was legally bought by the mother of the 6-year-old child and had been placed inside the family home. The child brought it to school on Friday in his backpack. It remains unclear how the child gained access to the weapon.
Authorities have been in contact with the child’s parents, police spokeswoman Kelly King told a CNN reporter on Monday.
Officials identified the victim as Abigail Zwerner, a 25-year-old teacher who was praised for her actions following she was shot and kept her students safe despite her injuries.
Although it was initially feared for her life due to the severity of her injuries, she is currently in stable condition, according to CNN.
The teacher was hit by a bullet which passed through her hand and then lodged in her chest.
It is still unclear what legal consequences the young assailant might suffer following the shooting.
While it’s technically possible for prosecutors to press charges once morest a 6-year-old in Virginia, who has no legal age limit, “it’s unlikely to lead to a successful prosecution,” he said. Andrew Block, associate professor at the University of Virginia School of Law at CNN.
As for the parents, it’s impossible to determine their fate without knowing how the 6-year-old got the gun, according to CNN.
Parents might be held criminally liable if they did not keep the gun properly loaded and out of their child’s reach. In Virginia, however, it is only a class 1 misdemeanor.
