A Virginia teacher who was reportedly shot by a six-year-old student last Friday (January 6) was trying to confiscate the gun, a parent of one of the students has claimed.
Abby Zwerner, 25, was at her job at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia, when one of her students allegedly tried to shoot her. After warning the other students in her class to flee and take cover in another classroom, Zwerner attempted to take the weapon away from the child, who ended up shooting her at around 2:00 PM, the New York Post reported.
Fortunately, the shooting was not fatal, and Zwerner was listed as being in a serious but stable condition at Riverside Regional Medical Center. Following the incident, the child was taken into custody and, according to Police Chief Steve Drew, the shooting allegedly stemmed from a fight and was "not an accidental shooting," the Washington Post detailed.
Per the outlet, Zwerner was shot both through the abdomen and the hand. Authorities said that it was unclear exactly how the child came into possession of the firearm.
A mother whose son is in Zwerner's class told the Washington Post that she would often leave sweet notes in her son's backpack. "I hope you had a great day," one said. "I want you to know your smile is contagious," said another. "She's such a sweet lady," the mom said. "She's very attentive to the kids."
The mother also added that her son has been finding it tough to cope with the distressing incident and that he's "still in shock." "He normally sleeps in his own room but the night of the shooting he came into my room. He was talking in his sleep, saying we got to get out of here," she continued.
As for whether the six-year-old will be prosecuted for their crime, former director of the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice Andrew Block told the Washington Post said that while there is no minimum age, it would be difficult to prosecute a child.
"As a practical matter, it would be next to impossible to prosecute a six-year-old, no matter how serious," he said, noting that the "infancy defense" holds that a person younger than seven does not have the mental capacity to form the intent to commit a crime.
"The bigger barrier, presuming the prosecution could overcome that, is all defendants have to be competent to stand trial. That means you have to understand the nature of legal proceedings against you and assist in your own defense. There's no way a six-year-old would meet that criteria," he said. "The juvenile justice system would not be equipped to handle such a young kid," he added.
