School Was Reportedly Notified 3 Times That 6-Year-Old Brought a Gun to School Before He Shot His Teacher

In an update from the lawyer obtained by Abigail Zwerner, the teacher who was shot by her 6-year-old student inside her classroom, Zwerner and other teachers reportedly warned the school that the boy had a gun, but they did nothing.

School Was Reportedly Notified 3 Times That 6-Year-Old Brought a Gun to School Before He Shot His Teacher

According to the lawyer, several “concerned teachers and employees” at the school warned administrators that the 6-year-old boy had a gun on three different occasions in the hours leading up to Zwerner being shot by the student. “The administration could not be bothered,” the lawyer, Diane Toscano, revealed.

Now, Zwerner, 25, has plans of suing the Newport News school board for their negligence. Zwerner is still healing from the serious injuries she sustained in the shooting.

In the statement issued by Toscano, she revealed that the boy’s backpack was searched but no gun was found. It was suspected that the gun was in the child’s pocket. That’s when one of the other employees who warned the school board about the gun asked for permission to search the child but “was told to wait the situation out because the school day was almost over.”

In a statement provided by the child’s family attorney, James Ellenson, they wrote, “our family has always been committed to responsible gun ownership and keeping firearms out of the reach of children. The firearm our son accessed was secured,” the family said.

“Our heart goes out to our son’s teacher and we pray for her healing in the aftermath of such an unimaginable tragedy as she selflessly served our son and the children in the school. She has worked diligently and compassionately to support our family as we sought the best education and learning environment for our son. We thank her for her courage, grace, and sacrifice. We grieve alongside all of the other teachers, families, and administrators for how this horrific incident has impacted them, our community, and the nation.”

As Mamas Uncut previously reported that the child removed the gun from his backpack, pointed it at his teacher, and fired one run at her.

Now, Virginia’s Newport News Police Chief has further revealed that despite just being shot at the 25-year-old teacher, identified as Abigail Zwerner managed to keep her cool and get all of her other children to safety.

In a statement shared by the police chief, an injured Zwerner “led her class outside, then turned around to make sure every child was out of danger before going into the school office to tell them to ‘call 911.’” It was after being assured that everyone would be okay that Zwerner collapsed.

Police Chief Steve Drew reported that the bullet went through Zwerner’s hand and into her upper chest. Zwerner remains in the hospital, but she has since been upgraded from having life-threatening injuries to being labeled in stable condition.

Since regaining consciousness, the only thing Zwerner has been concerned about is the well-being of her students. According to David Riedman, the founder of the K-12 School Shooting Database, this is the 17th school shooting by someone under the age of 10.

As CNN reports, the firearm used in the shooting was legally purchased by the child’s mother. “There was no physical struggle or fight,” following the shooting Chief Drew revealed. However, the boy was found being restrained by a school staff member when police arrived at the scene.

The boy was described as combative before the police took over.

The child accused of shooting the teacher is currently under a temporary dentition order. He is being “evaluated at a local hospital.”

Drew went on to say that an investigation into how the 6-year-old was able to obtain the gun is still ongoing. He did not release any preliminary results of that ongoing investigation.

The Richneck Elementary school has closed down for the rest of the week in order to give students “time to heal,” CNN reports.

Newport News Mayor Phillip Jones described Abby as a hero and “faithful as a teacher.” “She ensured that everyone was accounted for and that she was the last one to leave.”