Authorities have said that the shooting of a school teacher in Virginia by a six-year-old child was "not accidental."
The incident took place on Friday, January 6 at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia, and the six-year-old shooter was taken into police custody, per CNN.
The teacher was identified in a Facebook post by James Madison University as 25-year-old Abby Zwerner. "All of us at James Madison University are deeply saddened by the reported tragic shooting of JMU alumna Abby Zwerner. JMU is prepared to support those impacted by this incident now and in the weeks to come," the statement read.
On Saturday, the Newport News Police Department revealed that Zwerner was in stable condition and asked that everyone keep her in their thoughts and prayers.
Authorities are claiming that the incident was not an accident, as Police Chief Steve Drew said in a news conference, via CNN. Drew explained that there had been an altercation between the student and the teacher.
The unnamed student - who possessed a firearm at the time - fired a single round into Zwerner's abdomen. No other students were involved in the incident. The police chief added: "We have been in contact with our commonwealth attorney and some other entities to help us best get services to this young man," referring to the six-year-old.
Newport News mayor Phillip Jones said on Saturday, via the Guardian: "I do think that after this event, there is going to be a nationwide discussion on how these sorts of things can be prevented," while adding that the shooting was a "red flag for our country."
Per the Guardian, Virginia law states that six-year-olds cannot be tried as adults, nor can they be sentenced to the custody of the Department of Juvenile Justice - but parental custody rights can be revoked.
According to Education Week, since 2018 there have been 145 school shootings in the US that led to injuries or fatalities. Three of those instances happened on the Richneck school district property within the last 17 months.
Mayor Jones said on Twitter: "It is almost impossible to wrap our minds around the fact that a 6-year-old 1st grader brought a loaded handgun to school and shot a teacher; however, this is exactly what our community is grappling with today."
Richneck Principal Briana Foster Newton added in a statement: "My heart is aching for our school community. The tragic event that occurred on Friday impacts all of us deeply."
According to reports from the Guardian, gun violence experts say there have only been three other shootings by six-year-old students from 16 incidents involving shooters under 10 years old since 1970. In those instances, the incident has usually involved other students rather than teachers.
Our thoughts are with Zwerner during her recovery from the terrible incident.
.jpg_yIqWrR?tr=h-40&config=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)
.jpg_yIqWrR?tr=h-184&config=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)