Parents of Virginia boy, 6, who shot teacher could face charges

The parents of a six-year-old boy who allegedly took a gun from home, put it in his backpack and shot his teacher could face charges for not properly securing the weapon – as a substitute teacher reveals that the victim had been struggling with some students. 

The first grader is accused of shooting Abby Zwerner, 25, just as the Richneck Elementary School teacher ‘tried to confiscate’ the deadly firearm, leaving her with serious injuries, according to the Washington Post.

In an update from the school on the incident, the 25-year-old is said to be in a ‘stable condition and is talking with family and friends.’ 

The substitute teacher, named Celeste on TikTok, who subbed for Zwerner, said she knew the child who shot her. 

A first grader, 6, is accused of shooting Abby Zwerner, 25, just as the Richneck Elementary School teacher ‘tried to confiscate’ the deadly firearm, leaving her with serious injuries

‘I subbed for her class this year, I taught her class, I taught the 6-year-old that shot her,’ she said on her TikTok, twitch_cyberhex.

In a follow-up, the TikToker said she ‘knew [Zwerner] was struggling with some of the kids in there.’

Commenters on the TikToks were sympathetic for both the substitute teacher and the parent.

‘So scary and I’m so glad you’re all safe!’ one commenter said.

‘Hugs to you, prayers to Abby,’ another wrote.

‘You have done all you can I promise it’s just a heartbreaking reality that these events still happen when they’re preventable take care of yourself,’ said another.

In a bid to ‘give students and families time to heal’ the school was closed and will reopen next week.

On Monday, Newport News Chief of Police Steve Drew said in a press conference posted to Facebook that the child had found the gun in his home and put it in his backpack to bring to school.

A substitute teacher, named Celeste on TikTok, who subbed for Zwerner said she knew the child who shot her

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Because the gun, which was legally purchased by the child’s mother, was taken from the home, the parents, who have not been identified, could face criminal liability for the incident.

Under state laws guns must be secured from kids under 14, according to a description of the penalty to allow access to firearms by children on Virginia’s Legislative Information System.

‘It shall be unlawful for any person to recklessly leave a loaded, unsecured firearm in such a manner as to endanger the life or limb of any child under the age of fourteen,’ it reads.

‘Any person violating the provisions of this subsection shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.’

The penalty also states that it is unlawful for any person to knowingly authorize a child under the age of 12 to use a firearm except when the child is under supervision of an adult.

‘Any person violating this subsection shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor,’ it reads.

‘For purposes of this subsection, “adult” shall mean a parent, guardian, person standing in loco parentis to the child or a person twenty-one years or over who has the permission of the parent, guardian, or person standing in loco parentis to supervise the child in the use of a firearm.’ 

On Monday, Newport News Chief of Police Steve Drew said in a press conference posted to Facebook that the child had found the gun in his home and put it in his backpack to bring to school

Because the gun, which was legally purchased by the child’s mother, was taken from the home, the parents, who have not been identified, could face criminal liability for the incident

The shooting occurred in the classroom and was an isolated incident. Officers are still trying to determine how the child managed to get the weapon

A grandmother of one of the students told DailyMail.com that a student brought ‘shiny gold bullets’ to school last week, but it is unclear if it is the same child who was taken into custody.

She said: ‘The parents outside stated that their child told them a kid brought golden shiny bullets to school and was thinking about bringing his gun. The student told the parent, who informed the school.

‘And the school just yesterday got back to the parent saying the parent of the kid said it was a nerf bullet and the parent said nerf bullets aren’t shiny and gold.’

Meanwhile, third grader Kautier Brown, 10, who heard chaos break out inside his school last week told Wavy that ‘school is not a battleground’ in a message for Newport News Public Schools and the country.

‘They better be fixed by Friday because if they don’t get fixed by Friday, then I’m not going to school next week,’ he said.

Meanwhile, third grader Kautier Brown, 10, who heard chaos break out inside his school last week said ‘school is not a battleground’ in a message for Newport News Public Schools and the country

‘School is not, school is for learning, fun and making friends. School is not a battleground,’ he said. 

Drew didn’t rule out the possibility of charges against the parents, but he said it was too soon to say as the department is still investigating.

‘You can’t charge a six-year-old criminally, that’s pretty well established,’ Virginia criminal defense attorney Steve Duckett told the New York Post. 

‘The test should come down to whether or not appropriate steps were taken to safeguard the weapon,’ Duckett said.

‘If they kept [the gun] out in the wide open where anybody could grab it and do something untoward with it, that does expose them potentially to some liability.’

Duckett said the parents may not be charged criminally ‘if it was locked in a safe and they were not careless about keeping either the keys or the code to the safe out where anybody could find it and the kid broke in without their knowledge.’

According to a report by WTVR CBS 6, legal analyst Todd Stone said the case is unusual given the age of the accused shooter.

‘It’s really shocking. You just don’t see this happen in the legal system where you’ve got someone so young intentionally using a firearm against another person,’ said Stone.

Zwerner was shot in the chest in her classroom at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia, at around 2pm Friday, and taken to hospital with ‘serious injuries’

Residents of Newport News held a candlelight vigil in honor of Zwerner at the School Administration Building in Newport News. She is now in a stable condition

‘The parents could be charged with a misdemeanor, which would be the maximum of 12 months in jail, and realistically, it’s very fact-dependent.

The parents could also face charges such as delinquency or neglect of a minor – charges ‘which sometimes can be more difficult to prove,’ Stone added.

Researcher David Riedman who founded a database tracking US school shootings, said he was only aware of three other school shootings by six-year-olds and one other by a five-year-old, according to a report by the Guardian.

‘It’s very rare and it’s not something the legal system is really designed or positioned to deal with,’ Riedman said.

Zwerner was shot in the chest in her classroom at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia, at around 2pm Friday, January 6.

She was taken to hospital for surgery but is now in a stable condition.

Police said the boy, who has not been publicly identified, got into an ‘altercation’ with Zwerner, of Williamsburg, before shooting her.

Parent, Sebastian Gonzalez-Hernandez, confirmed Zwerner’s identity to DailyMail.com at the weekend and also detailed her selflessness in the immediate aftermath.

He said: ‘She screamed at her kids to run away’ after the student fired a single bullet.

‘Even after she’d been shot, she was thinking about the safety of her children,’ Gonzalez-Hernandez said.

Officials at the scene recovered a 9mm weapon and one shell casing, Drew said, but are yet to identify the child and the parents.