By Jacob Swan 2023 started off with a devastating sight, as a six-year-old attending Richneck elementary school in Newport News, Virginia, brought and shot a loaded gun at his teacher. The child walked into school and during an instructional period, pulled out the firearm, and fired it at the teacher. The teacher went into a defensive position putting her hands up, and the bullet traveled through her hands and into her upper chest. After little investigation, the police labeled this shooting as intentional. Many argue though, how can a six-year-old have that intent. After the teacher, Abigail Zwerner, got shot she was taken to a hospital and, after some medical care, was released back to her house, where she is recovering. While this was happening, many local leaders have been stirring about changing their laws on gun violence and gun safety. Newport News Mayor Phillips addressed the situation January 6th saying “it is almost impossible to wrap our minds around…” While parents are full of concern for their kids, local leaders discuss what they should do. After this disturbing incident, many repercussions have occurred. First a discussion on figuring out what the parents' responsibility was. The gun was supposedly secured by a trigger lock and was located on the top shelf of the shooter’s mother’s closet. Everyone is still wondering how the six-year-old was able to manage this task, stating that the shelf was well over 6 feet high and also was secured by a lock needing a key similar to a bike lock. After further investigation, the family began to speak out about their son's “acute disability.” One of the parents would usually accompany the boy to days at school and that week neither did. Information hasn’t been given on what disability the six-year-old has and what kind of care the parents provided when accompanying him to class. Many teachers after the incident said they had shared their concerns for the son's behavior on earlier occasions, but their fears had been downplayed. Before this incident, the child had demonstrated reckless behavior throwing furniture, barricading classrooms, and even at one point writing a death note to Ms. Zwerner saying he wanted to set her on fire and kill her. After presenting the note to administrators, Ms. Zwerner was told to drop it and not worry about it. Even during the class periods, there were many signs of this potential danger, but administration showed no concern. Reportedly, the day of the shooting, the boy was checked at 12:30pm by a teacher who thought he was carrying a gun in his backpack. She didn’t find one but told an official he might have put it in his pockets. The official nonchalantly replied, "He has little pockets.” Then, at 1:00pm, it was said that the student showed another kid a gun and threatened him if he snitched. Finally, another employee asked to search the boy's bag but was told to wait till the day was over. These events all foreshadowed the tragic disaster that happened at 2:00pm that day while the administration did nothing to help. Many officials at this time have stated their opinions on this situation showing their concern and fear. The principal at Richneck Elementary said, “My heart is aching for our school community.” Dr. George Parker superintendent for the Newport News public schools said, “I’m in shock, and I’m disheartened,” and “We need to educate our children and we need to keep them safe.” These were some of his last words before getting notice that not only has he been fired but also Zwerner is pressing charges against the school district. Everyone at this time is sharing their concern and sympathy for this teacher and her students. Actions must be taken to prevent these things from happening in the future
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