Yes, you read that headline correctly.
A 6-year-old shot his teacher... and it wasn't an accident.
The 25-year-old female teacher was left with life-threatening injuries after her 6-year-old male student shot her with a handgun in their first-grade classroom last Friday at Richneck Elementary in Newport, Virginia.
Thankfully, Virginia elementary school teacher Abby Zwerner is now in stable condition, showing signs of improvement, and has met with her family.
In a press conference on Friday evening, city officials said that the shooting was not accidental and that it happened in the first-grade classroom after the young boy started arguing with a teacher.
(This little kid had a gun and he SHOT HIS TEACHER when he got angry!!!)
The school went into lockdown for about an hour and a half, and the police arrived almost immediately and took the little boy into custody. Other than the teacher, no one else was hurt.
Newport News Police Chief Steve Drew said that officers collected evidence and processed the scene inside the school. He also said the most important thing was getting students back with their parents, getting counselors in touch with students, and making sure they were safe and could process what happened.
Newport News's new mayor, Phillip Jones, city officials, and school board members came to the school on Friday to show support.
Mayor Jones told reporters:
It's a dark day for Newport News. We're going to learn from this, and we're going to come back stronger.
The police did an amazing job, got here very, very quickly, along with the sheriff's office. We are ensuring that everyone is safe, we are ensuring that everyone is accounted for, they're going to be in the cafeteria right now, and people are being escorted out to their parents.
Newport News School Superintendent Dr. George Parker, III said Richneck Elementary School will not hold classes today or tomorrow.
I'm in awe, I'm in shock and I'm disheartened. Today, our students got a lesson in gun violence, and what guns can do to disrupt not only an educational environment but a family, a community.
I cannot control access to weapons. My teachers cannot control access to weapons. It comes on campus because of access in the community, and this is not a Newport News problem. It's a bigger, broader problem than what we're seeing today.
Dr. Parker said they would review safety protocols and make adjustments if needed.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin tweeted about the shooting Friday night, saying he was monitoring the situation and praying for the students and community.
Police are still investigating how the little boy had access to the gun in the first place.
