Virginia Police: Six-Year-Old Student Allegedly Shot Teacher in Newport News

According to the school’s website, there are 558 students enrolled at Richneck Elementary school, including 100 first-grade students.

A six-year-old boy has been taken into custody after he allegedly shot a Richneck Elementary School teacher in Newport News on Friday.

Police Chief Steve Drew told reporters during a news conference Friday evening that the victim was a female in her 30s and suffered potentially “life threatening” injuries. Police say her condition improved slightly later Friday, but did not provide a full update.

The chief said a handgun was used in the incident, but it is not known how the child came into possession of the firearm. He also said the incident was not a protracted shooting, but was isolated to the classroom.

Dr. George Parker, the superintendent of Newport News Public Schools, has stated the shooting occurred in a first-grade classroom but did not provide any details about the student.

“This was not a situation where we had a student, or any other individuals, going up and down the halls actively firing in a long shooting incident,” Drew stated.

Richneck Elementary has canceled classes for Monday. The status of classes after that date is not clear.

The police chief, who described the child as a “young man,” said the incident “was not an accidental shooting.” However, he did not explain how he came to that determination.

After the incident, students were moved to the school’s gymnasium where they were reunited with their families. Counselors were reportedly at the school, ready to talk with students who were affected by the incident. Parker said they would also be made available to school teachers and staff as well as parents of students.

Reporters asked Drew if the parents of the child were informed he had been involved and taken into custody, but he was unable to answer saying other officers were handling the matter and he’d “get a brief” on that situation after the conference. While answering that same question he stated: “I want to know where that firearm came from.”

“It hurts my heart,” newly-elected Newport News Mayor Phillip Jones said at the conference. “It is a dark day for Newport News, but we are going to learn from this and we are going to come back stronger.” Jones stated after the conference that he would head to the hospital to check on the victim and her family, promising to sleep there tonight.

Both Jones and Drew praised law enforcement’s response to the incident. Jones promised he, the school board, and the city council will take steps to make sure a similar event never happens again.

Parker said the community needs to work together to keep guns out of the hands of the youth.

“Today, our students got a lesson in gun violence and what guns can do to disrupt not only an educational environment but also a family [and] a community,” Parker said. “We need community’s support – continued support – to make sure guns are not available to youth. I’m sounding like a broken record today, because I continue to reiterate that: we need to keep guns out of the hands of our young people.”

Parker noted the school does not require all students to walk through metal detectors but does have the capabilities to use metal detectors, adding they “randomly” screen students.

“We need to educate our children and keep them safe,” Parker said. “Today was really a breakdown of what our values are as a community, what our values are as a city, and what our values are as a school division.”