A six-year-old boy shot his teacher in a Virginia elementary school on Friday, according to the police. The shooting took place at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, a suburb about 70 miles outside Richmond.
According to reports, there was an altercation in the classroom, according to authorities, and the six-year-old boy shot the teacher with a handgun, leaving her with life-threatening injuries. Police confirmed only one round was fired and it was an “isolated” event.
“The individual is a six-year-old student. He is right now in police custody,” Newport News Police Chief Steve Drew said at a press conference several hours after the shooting.
“We have been in contact with our commonwealth attorney and some other entities to help us best get services to this young man,” he told the media.
“We’ll get the investigation done, there’s questions we’ll want to ask and find out about,” Drew said. “I want to know where that firearm came from, what was the situation.”
“This was not an accidental shooting,” he added.
Newport News Public Schools Superintendent, Dr. George Parker also attended the press conference.
“I’m in shock, and I’m disheartened,” Dr. Parker said. “We need to educate our children and we need to keep them safe.”
“I cannot control access to weapons,” Dr. Parker continued. “My teachers cannot control access to weapons.”
He added, “Today our students got a lesson in gun violence and what guns can do to disrupt not only an educational environment, but also a family, a community.”
The mayor of Newport News, Phillip Jones, also addressed the media, saying that even though the incident was “still raw,” the city council and school board will work to ensure they have the right policies in place to avoid a situation like this in the future.
The superintendent announced at the press conference that the school will be closed on Monday “as we work on the mental health of our staff and our students.”