Police say it was “not an accident”
Primary school student (6) shoots his mother’s pistol at the teacher
A student shot his teacher in the United States. As it turns out, the six-year-old got his mother’s pistol. He took aim and fired. The background is still unclear.
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On Friday afternoon, primary school teacher Abigail Z. was shot by one of her students.
A shot was fired in the middle of class: Abigail Z.* (25), a teacher at an elementary school in the city of Newport News, Virginia, was shot on Friday. A primary school student (6) pointed the gun at her and pulled the trigger. The bullet hit the 25-year-old in the chest and injured her life-threateningly.
It was initially said that the shot was fired during an argument. But the police have now made it clear that the boy intentionally shot the 25-year-old. “There was no physical fight or other scuffle,” Police Chief Steve Drew said during a news conference on Monday. It was “not an accident,” he emphasized.
It was unclear where the boy got the gun from. Now the police say: The gun belongs to the boy’s mother. It was a legally purchased 9mm Taurus pistol that she kept in the house.
“Call 911, I was shot”
The student took the gun, put it in his backpack and took it with him. Police said the school has metal detectors but only random checks are carried out on the children and their bags. “Let’s be honest, who would be prepared for a six-year-old to bring a loaded gun to school and shoot their teacher?” said George Parker, director of public schools at Newport News.
After the shot, “she yelled at her students to run away,” a parent told Fox News. The children were taken to the gym before being reunited with their families.
Meanwhile, the teacher made her way to the administration office to get help. “She said, ‘Call 911, I was shot.’ And then she passed out,” an eyewitness told the New York Times.
School is closed during the week
Z. was taken to a hospital and is now in a stable condition. The boy was taken into police custody and is currently being examined in the hospital. Police intend to apply for a temporary detention order and further investigate the incident. The school will remain closed throughout the week, the principal said.
School incidents involving such young shooters are also rare in the United States. According to the New York Times, there have been 16 cases involving shooters under the age of ten since 1970. Six-year-olds were involved in three of them, and two of these three incidents were registered as accidental.
The Newport News incident underscores the continuing threat of gun violence in schools across the United States. In May, 19 children and two teachers were killed in an elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. (SDA/hei)
* Name known