Teacher shot by 6-year-old texted a dire warning to a loved one before she was wounded, source says

[Coventina]

The Virginia teacher who was shot by her 6-year-old student texted a loved one before she was wounded that the boy was armed and that school officials were failing to act, according to a source close to the situation.

The source on Tuesday said Abigail Zwerner sent the text about an hour before she was shot on Jan. 6, saying that the student said he had a gun in his backpack and administrators at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News weren't helping.

The text "showed her frustration," said the source, who only disclosed details of the single text message to NBC News and not the messages that came before or after it. "She was frustrated because she was trying to get help with this child, for this child, and then when she needed help, no one was coming."

When asked about Zwerner’s text message and previous safety concerns from teachers and staff, Newport News Public Schools spokesperson Michelle Price said, “Anything that has been reported to our school leadership team in regards to concerns at Richneck from teachers and staff members is part of the investigation. It’s being thoroughly investigated.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/teacher-shot-6-year-old-texted-dire-warning-loved-one-was-wounded-sour-rcna67290

**************************************************************

I hope she retires a very, very wealthy woman.

[Bettie]

1. Sounds to me like the parents are

very well-off and well-connected. Oh, and 99% sure they are white.

[AkFemDem]

9. This is not a wealthy or predominantly white district

https://www.publicschoolreview.com/richneck-elementary-school-profile

I think an argument can be made that lower income, diverse schools are viewed with apathy by district powers that be, and that even though lower income, minority students are more at risk of being victims of crime (and we know that’s true) there is a troubling lack of prevention and mitigation resources to protect these children and stop the gun violence that plagues cities like Newport News.

[Bettie]

13. In my experience

they would have been all over a not-white kid.

It will be interesting to see where this goes. In any case, this was a failure by multiple people who could have done something.

It's also another thing that can be laid at the doorstep of our country's lack of mental health resources and placements, because this kid surely needed some help that the parents were not able to provide.

Some issues need to be dealt with by professionals and this case may very well be one of them.

[LisaL]

25. He is not white.

So you are totally wrong.

[Hortensis]

31. Thanks. Can't move fix anything without understanding

the problem.

[LisaL]

24. Well, the kid isn't white.

I saw his photo.

[Bettie]

26. They are showing a photo

of this child? Whatever he did, that's wrong, he is still a small child, albeit one who needs...something. No idea what.

[LisaL]

27. With his face blurred out.

But yes, the photo is in being shown.

[BlackSkimmer]

43. I've seen a picture of the mom.

And you are wrong.

[Bettie]

44. Given the delicate treatement

I am surprised.

I've said that several times. It isn't usual with non-white or poor people.

[BlackSkimmer]

45. He's a minor.

Hence the treatment.

[Bluethroughu]

2. I hope she settles for at least 1billion.

People need to pay, because money is the only thing they listen to.

[Hortensis]

32. Really? That's the only thing you listen to?

Of course not, of course. Same for "them."

Btw, every school district in the nation has already ben running scared of legal damages for decades, and yet this happened.

[Bluethroughu]

40. Somebody has to be held responsible for a teacher being shot by

A student that had been acknowledged as a threat an hour before.

The dean, security, principal and district should be liable.
The parents should be in jail if it was their gun.
The community needs to come together and put gun regulations on the priority.

I'm not trying to say everyone, but if taxpayers start having to flip the bill for the gun violence in public areas, maybe the 2nd amendment above everything else people, will get sick of their fellow irresponsible gun buddies causing their wallet to suffer, and we get on commonsense gun regulations.

Unless we get a few more SCOTUS justices, I'm unsure what we can do.

[Hortensis]

42. Don't worry, various parties are accountable and in trouble.

This shocking event didn't take place on Tatooine. It's the focus of state and national attention, and especially intense local attention, and various levels and types of established authorities, laws, regulations, etc are involved. As for who pays the bill, they're our institutions, including that school district and all the others involved, and so of course we always do. If monetary damages made society behave responsibly, they'd have worked long ago.

[tanyev]

3. "The firearm our son accessed was secured," said the statement, released by the family's attorney.

Um, no. If a 6 year old was able to access the gun, then it was definitely not secured.

[Sogo]

5. Things that make you go hmmm....

Can we therefore infer that an adult gave the child access to it?

[tanyev]

12. It's occurred to me that there could be an older sibling mixed up in this.

But if the sibling is not old enough or mature enough to know you don't hand a gun to a 6 year old to take to school, then he or she should also not be able to access the guns.

[crickets]

8. Exactly. nt

[Cha]

11. It was NOT "secured" Enough. So

it was Negligence.

[cab67]

14. agreed, but...

...I'm willing to accept the possibility the parents thought it was secured. Did an older sibling provide access? Did the child figure out how to get around the securing mechanism? (My daughter is his age, and her problem-solving skills are remarkable if she's determined enough.) Neither of these absolves the parents - it was their responsibility to secure the weapon properly, and it wasn't. They might very well be lying to cover their assess, but then again, maybe they're not.

[mgardener]

16. Why would you have a gun in the house

With a child with that many issues?
Was the " secure" gun loaded at the time?

[Bluethroughu]

41. Yep, as secure as the kid in diapers waving a gun, pulling the trigger

In the apartment hallway.

Unbelievable.

Except this is real.

[maxsolomon]

46. If it was in a gun safe or had a trigger lock

then it was secured. If the kid overcame the security, then it wasn't secured adequately.

I question the wisdom of even having a gun in the house. The kid sounds like a sociopath.

[Bettie]

47. If the parents being in class with him was

deemed necessary and reasonable, it seems that there are some serious issues.

Unfortunately, our society isn't good at dealing with such issues. There is little support for the families of people with them and even less after an incident.

On the one hand, I will never understand why parents with a possibly dangerous child would have a gun in the home. On the other, it is probable that they reached out for help and found that there aren't adequate resources available.

[debm55]

48. The school should have provided an aide, since the child's parents would no longer be attending

classes with him. Was this his homeroom? Was he being mainstreamed and this was a mainstreamed classroom? When I taught Art, I had students from the Educational and Behavior Delayed classrooms come to my room with an aid. So did the Music and Gym classes.Have things changed and their is no mainstreaming?

[Bettie]

49. My youngest is in middle school

but most elementary kids don't change classrooms except for art, music, PE around here.

Some kids go to sessions for various reasons (T&G, reading help, behavioral) but are 95% mainstream classes.

[FakeNoose]

4. Lawsuits are coming

The school principal knew about the boy having a gun. There were at least 3 warnings from other teachers and school employees before Ms. Zwerner was shot. Absolute negligence on the school, also the boy's parents.

Please see https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143024094
Headline: Lawyer: Adminstrators were warned 3 times the day boy shot teacher at Virginia school

[BannonsLiver]

6. The kid is a bad seed.

Should probably be in a facility permanently.

[Diamond_Dog]

7. And everyone wonders why there's a teacher shortage.

[lpbk2713]

10. Raise hand if any question why teachers are leaving the profession

[mgardener]

15. I was injured by a student while working as a school nurse

I ended up going out on disability at age 42. Wrong place wrong time for me.
I sought legal advice and the lawyer was appalled when the copies of all the incident reports were sent to him. The stack was about a 1/4 inch thick. He was in 5th grade at the time.

We all knew he was dangerous. We all hoped nothing would happen.
But a shooting? I can't even imagine

[Sky Jewels]

17. Damn, that is just awful. I'm so sorry.

[GreenWave]

18. This story keeps growing legs.

What's next?
Cops failed to respond in time if call was actually placed?

[sarisataka]

19. Nope

A Newport News police spokeswoman said authorities also determined through their investigation that "a school employee was notified of a possible firearm at Richneck Elementary before the shooting occurred," adding, "The Newport News Police Department was not notified of this information prior to the incident."

[Dr. Strange]

22. Do we want teachers calling the cops on school kids?

[sarisataka]

28. If a child brings a gun to school

They should not call police?

[Dr. Strange]

35. Seems like whenever a cop is called, people here go nuts.

I mean, I don't have a problem with it, but it doesn't seem like a particularly popular position.

[questionseverything]

29. If they have a gun? Yes

[AkFemDem]

33. YES. YES WE ENTHUSIASTICALLy DO want the cops called

When a student has brought a gun into a school.

[bucolic_frolic]

20. Teachers have no authority to seize weapons from pupils backpacks?

It's school policy, apparently, to let situations like this fester until higher-ups decide to act? How about safety first?

[progressoid]

21. Yeah, that's fubar.

[LisaL]

23. Another teacher searched the backpack but didn't find the gun.

The boy probably put it in his pocket when backpack was searched.

"At 12:30 p.m. a teacher told a school administrator she searched the 6-year-old's backpack for a gun and told the administration that she believed the boy put the gun in his pocket before going outside for recess. The administrator downplayed the report and responded that the boy has little pockets, according to Toscano."

https://abcnews.go.com/US/school-board-decide-fate-superintendent-after-6-year/story?id=96654019

[debm55]

37. You can't go in a child's desk either. Privacy issues. former PA teacher. I don't know if it has

Last edited Thu Jan 26, 2023, 11:34 AM - Edit history (1)

changed since all the school shootings. I know because I got written up for going in a child's desk. This was six years ago. He had a plastic butter knife from the cafeteria.

[bucolic_frolic]

38. The legal rule at one time was in loco parentis

in location as the parent would do. Now the kids rule. Who knew?

[debm55]

39. There were lawsuits brought by parents, stating that their childs rights were infringed. I was

surprised that backbacks were checked as this was again infringment of rights. And you better have a very clear causef for the search. Schools are not like they were once were when I started teaching in 1978.

[OverBurn]

30. I guess I don't get it, if there's a fucking gun, take it. Don't wait for a shooting.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

34. The Subversive 6 have ruled that gun owners have more rights than women.

[ZonkerHarris]

36. Write the check Newport News