6-year-old in custody after allegedly shooting teacher at Virginia school

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (TCD) -- A 6-year-old boy is in police custody after he allegedly opened fire in a classroom following an "altercation" with his teacher.

According to the Newport News Police Department, on Friday, Jan. 6, at 2:45 p.m., officers went to Richneck Elementary School for a shooting call and transported an adult female to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. Police later identified the alleged shooter as a 6-year-old boy and the victim as his teacher.

Newport News Police Chief Steve Drew said at a press conference Friday evening that an "altercation took place," which led to the shooting. He called it an "isolated" incident, but said it "was not an accidental shooting."

The boy allegedly used a handgun, and no students or other faculty members were injured.

In a statement Saturday, Jan. 7, James Madison University President Jonathan Alger identified the victim as Abby Zwerner and said he was "deeply saddened by the reported tragic shooting" of the school’s former student.

Zwerner is a first-grade teacher at Richneck Elementary.

Also on Jan. 7, Newport News Police said Zwerner was upgraded to stable condition.

Newport News Public Schools Superintendent George Parker III announced Richneck Elementary will be closed Jan. 9 through Jan. 13 to "provide any supports needed for school staff and families as we continue to work with local authorities to assess what occurred and review our security procedures."

Parker wrote in his statement, "We will continue to work with authorities to review what has transpired and most importantly learn from this experience. A 6-year-old student with access to a weapon brought that item to his first-grade classroom. There are many concerns that we will need to unpack before we will be able to determine if any additional preventive measures would have impacted the probability of this incident occurring."

MORE:

• Shooting at Richneck Elementary School - Newport News Police Department
• Newport News Police Chief Press Conference - Newport News Police Department via WVEC-TV
• A message of support for JMU graduate Abby Zwerner from President Alger on behalf of the JMU community - James Madison University
• Important Message from the Superintendent - Newport News Public Schools