The authorities offered on Monday the first account of how the child obtained the gun, saying that the weapon, a 9-millimeter Taurus handgun, came from his home and that it had been legally purchased by his mother. “The child had obtained that firearm, placed it in his backpack and brought it to school,” Chief Drew said, citing interviews with the child and his mother. Chief Drew said that any potential charges would be based on “what the facts are and what the law supports.” The child is receiving treatment at a medical facility, the authorities said. His family has not been identified.

The focus in elementary schools had been on preventing adult active shooters from entering classrooms, Mr. Parker said. But now, he said, some steps taken at high schools, like metal detectors, may need to be explored. “I hate to be at this point where I’m considering this, but we have to start relying on those types of deterrence at the elementary level as well,” said Mr. Parker, who seemed distressed to even be thinking about such measures.

Chief Drew said another school employee came into the classroom at the sound of the gunshot and “restrained that young man — that child, I should say.” The boy struck the employee but did not fire another shot, the police said. The gun, which still held bullets, was on the floor when the police arrived.

In the front office, school officials were busy ordering a schoolwide lockdown, having just been told that a shooting had taken place in one of the first-grade classrooms, said Lowanda Sample-Rusk, 55, who was there to pick up her 5- and 7-year-old grandchildren. Before the office itself was locked, Ms. Zwerner showed up at the door. “She said: ‘Call 911. I’ve been shot,’” Ms. Sample-Rusk recalled. “And then she fainted.” Ms. Sample-Rusk and others in the office immediately ran to Ms. Zwerner and began administering first aid, seeing blood on Ms. Zwerner’s hand but trying to “find out where the gunshot wound was.” They found that Ms. Zwerner had been shot in the chest, and Ms. Sample-Rusk applied pressure to the wound until the police came.

The authorities offered on Monday the first account of how the child obtained the gun, saying that the weapon, a 9-millimeter Taurus handgun, came from his home and that it had been legally purchased by his mother. “The child had obtained that firearm, placed it in his backpack and brought it to school,” Chief Drew said, citing interviews with the child and his mother. Chief Drew said that any potential charges would be based on “what the facts are and what the law supports.”

Administrators at the Virginia school where a first-grader shot his teacher last week learned the child may have had a weapon in his possession before the shooting but did not find the 9mm handgun he brought to school despite searching his bag, the school system's superintendent said. Police said Friday they were not told about the tip before the shooting occurred. Kelly King, a spokesperson for the Newport News Police Department, told The Associated Press that some time after the shooting, police learned through their investigation that a school employee was notified of a possible gun at Richneck Elementary School before the Jan. 6 shooting. “The Newport News Police Department was not notified of this information prior to the incident,” King wrote in an email.

The student’s backpack was searched after school officials received the tip, but the gun wasn’t found before the shooting, said Michelle Price, a spokesperson for the Newport News school district. She declined to comment on the police statement. She said that typically, when school officials receive a tip about a potential weapon or other contraband in the schools, if the tip includes specific information about a particular student or a particular classroom, “that's where the search starts.” “I'm not able to comment on whether other searches may have occurred, except for the fact that the superintendent has shared that the student's backpack was searched and nothing was found at the time,” Price told The Associated Press. Price confirmed that Superintendent George Parker told parents during an online meeting Thursday night that at least one school administrator was notified the boy may have a weapon before the 6-year-old shot the teacher. Parker’s comments were first reported by WAVY-TV, which gained access to the parents-only meeting.

Police Chief Steve Drew has previously said the boy brought the gun to school in his backpack the day of the shooting. Price said she has not been told where school officials believe the gun was when the boy's backpack was searched. “That probably is definitely part of our internal investigation and the police investigation, but nothing about that has been released publicly," Price said. She declined to comment when asked who reported that the boy may have a weapon and whether school officials should have taken additional steps after the weapon was not found in his backpack.

Police said Friday they were not told about the tip before the shooting occurred. Kelly King, a spokesperson for the Newport News Police Department, told The Associated Press that some time after the shooting, police learned through their investigation that a school employee was notified of a possible gun at Richneck Elementary School before the Jan. 6 shooting. “The Newport News Police Department was not notified of this information prior to the incident,” King wrote in an email.

CDFingers wrote: Sun Jan 08, 2023 2:53 pm I can't help you comprehend. Some folks always wrankle against voluntary restraint. Sometimes it'll be that way.

CDFingers

CowboyT wrote: Sun Jan 15, 2023 2:11 pm

CDFingers wrote: Sun Jan 08, 2023 2:53 pm I can't help you comprehend. Some folks always wrankle against voluntary restraint. Sometimes it'll be that way.

CDFingers

With all respect, CDFingers...those are the definitions of the words.

CDFingers wrote: Sun Jan 15, 2023 8:13 pm

CowboyT wrote: Sun Jan 15, 2023 2:11 pm

CDFingers wrote: Sun Jan 08, 2023 2:53 pm I can't help you comprehend. Some folks always wrankle against voluntary restraint. Sometimes it'll be that way.

CDFingers

With all respect, CDFingers...those are the definitions of the words.

Meaning and comprehension frequently lie in different universes. I think comprehending safe storage is the easier task than the subtle differences between freedom and liberty.

CDFingers

F4FEver wrote: Mon Jan 16, 2023 9:53 am

CDFingers wrote: Sun Jan 15, 2023 8:13 pm

CowboyT wrote: Sun Jan 15, 2023 2:11 pm

CDFingers wrote: Sun Jan 08, 2023 2:53 pm I can't help you comprehend. Some folks always wrankle against voluntary restraint. Sometimes it'll be that way.

CDFingers

With all respect, CDFingers...those are the definitions of the words.

Meaning and comprehension frequently lie in different universes. I think comprehending safe storage is the easier task than the subtle differences between freedom and liberty.

CDFingers

That'll never work for some...even mentioning something as obvious as safe storage and you'll get the inevitable, "Muh guns, mind yer own bizness", or the 'don't tread on me' crap, saying dictating 'safe storage' is 'treading on the 2A' type pablum.

CDFingers wrote: Mon Jan 16, 2023 10:14 am

F4FEver wrote: Mon Jan 16, 2023 9:53 am

CDFingers wrote: Sun Jan 15, 2023 8:13 pm

CowboyT wrote: Sun Jan 15, 2023 2:11 pm

With all respect, CDFingers...those are the definitions of the words.

Meaning and comprehension frequently lie in different universes. I think comprehending safe storage is the easier task than the subtle differences between freedom and liberty.

CDFingers

That'll never work for some...even mentioning something as obvious as safe storage and you'll get the inevitable, "Muh guns, mind yer own bizness", or the 'don't tread on me' crap, saying dictating 'safe storage' is 'treading on the 2A' type pablum.

Yeah. Sometimes it'll be that way. Freedom is untidy; liberty, less so.

CDFingers

wings wrote: Fri Jan 20, 2023 8:15 pm The problem isn't in the nuance between freedom or liberty. It's about responsibility.

When I was a kid, sure, I knew better than to touch dad's .22 without permission. I also got into literally everything else. Individual gun ownership is one thing, but when other people have access to them, then the rights become a whole lot more complicated.

In the hours before a 6-year-old boy shot his first-grade teacher in Virginia this month, school leaders were warned three times that the boy might have a gun, a lawyer for the teacher said on Wednesday, including an account from another child at the school who tearfully reported that the boy had shown him the gun at recess. The lawyer, Diane Toscano, announced the teacher’s intent to file a lawsuit against the school district in Newport News, Va., laying out a series of escalating warnings that unfolded on the day of the shooting, when the police say a 6-year-old boy took his mother’s gun from home, brought it to Richneck Elementary School and fired at his teacher, Abigail Zwerner.

The shooting has shaken the community, raised alarms about rising gun violence in schools in the United States and led to visceral demands for accountability from parents and educators in Newport News, where the school board will meet to decide the fate of the superintendent on Wednesday night. A spokeswoman for Newport News Public Schools declined to comment on the lawyer’s statement and timeline of events, citing an ongoing investigation. On the day of the shooting, a teacher had searched the boy’s backpack, believing that he might have a gun, Ms. Toscano said. No gun was found, but the teacher reported to the school administration around 12:30 p.m. that she believed the boy had put the gun in his pocket before going outside for recess. Instead of searching the boy, Ms. Toscano said, an administrator dismissed the threat, saying that the 6-year-old “has little pockets.”

Around 1 p.m. — about an hour before the shooting — another teacher reported that a student had come to the teacher crying, saying that the 6-year-old had shown him the gun at recess and threatened to shoot the student if the student told anyone, Ms. Toscano said. “What did administrators do?” Ms. Toscano said at a news conference on Wednesday, where she announced plans to file the lawsuit. “Did administrators call the police? No. Did administrators lock down the school? No. Did administrators evacuate the building? No. Did they confront the student? No.” By around 2 p.m. in front of his classmates in their first-grade classroom, the boy pointed the gun at Ms. Zwerner and fired, the police said. Ms. Zwerner, 25, was shot in the chest, and a bullet remains lodged in her body, according to her lawyer, who said that her client was beginning a long journey of physical and psychological recovery.

The family of the 6-year-old has said that he has an “acute disability” and that his mother or father had previously been attending school with him each day. The week of the shooting — just after the holidays — was the first time that a parent had not been in class with him, the family said. The student had previously threatened to light a teacher on fire and, in one incident, threw furniture and other items in class, leaving other students frightened, according to The Washington Post. On the day of the shooting, Ms. Zwerner reported to the school that the boy had threatened to beat up another child, her lawyer said.

Zwerner first went to a school administrator between 11:15 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. and said the student threatened to beat up a classmate, Toscano said. A second teacher went to a school administrator at 12:30 p.m. and told the administrator the teacher took it upon herself to search the 6-year-old boy's backpack.

"The administrator downplayed the report from the teacher and the possibility of a gun," Toscano said.

A third teacher told an administrator shortly before 1 p.m., the boy showed a student the gun at recess and "threatened to shoot him if he told anybody," Toscano said.

A fourth employee asked an administrator for permission to search the boy and was denied, Toscano said.

another teacher reported that a student had come to the teacher crying, saying that the 6-year-old had shown him the gun at recess and threatened to shoot the student if the student told anyone, Ms. Toscano said.

The family of the 6-year-old has said that he has an “acute disability” and that his mother or father had previously been attending school with him each day. The week of the shooting — just after the holidays — was the first time that a parent had not been in class with him, the family said. The student had previously threatened to light a teacher on fire and, in one incident, threw furniture and other items in class, leaving other students frightened, according to The Washington Post. On the day of the shooting, Ms. Zwerner reported to the school that the boy had threatened to beat up another child, her lawyer said.

highdesert wrote: Thu Jan 26, 2023 9:43 am Right now the latest information is from the teacher's lawsuit which are allegations. Don't know what's in the police investigation reports, likely sealed because a minor is involved. Have to wait until it comes to trial for the real evidence, but it could never come to trial, the district will probably do a settlement to make it go away. They want it out of the media.

The Newport News School Board fired the superintendent last night.
https://www.wtkr.com/news/newport-news- ... k-shooting

Before police revealed the gun was legally purchased by the 6-year-old's mother, Andrew Block, an associate professor at the University of Virginia Law School, told CNN there was a scenario where the parents could be held criminally liable if the weapon belonged to them and they did not keep it properly locked up. But in Virginia, that's only a Class 1 misdemeanor, Block said.

CDFingers wrote: Thu Jan 26, 2023 8:53 am I feel sorry for the idiocy of the parent who said the gun was "secure." Obviously it was not. Dang. The stupid burns. This stupid precipitates from the people who think that just saying something means everyone should accept it as true, despite the obvious and measurable facts. I'm pretty sure we can thank the likes of Fox News and those kind of tabloid media for this burning stupid.

CDFingers

SunRiseWest wrote: Sun Jan 29, 2023 2:20 pm We still don't know exactly how the gun was or was not 'secured,' do we?

I'm very curious about this, having recently shopped for gun lock boxes and purchased two of them-- reading the negative reviews was really informative. For example, some-- with keys that are bilaterally symmetrical-- can be opened, literally, with a paper clip. There are six-year-olds who could do this. A six-year-old might also be able to remember the combination of one of those stupid little zinc locks, if he saw mum or dud open the safe. Some fingerprint sensors do not work well-- I've seen reviews that said, "I quickly discovered that any finger would open the safe, whether it had been programmed or not." Most can be pried open with screwdrivers, though some would require more strength than a young child would have.

My impression is that most lock boxes are pretty bad. The larger one I got seems pretty decent, though the fingerprint sensor is wonky-- I sometimes I have to use the combination. I'm going to test it with the 'wrong' finger. The smaller safe, though it has a cylindrical key, is really not great. I think it has a reasonable chance of deterring a smash-and-grab thief, or it would be fine for the trunk of a car with an alarm (if I can find a decent anchor point for the cable) if I am nearby.
OTOH, "secured" could mean "in a locked briefcase" or the trunk of a car or something, which would be a bit different. It's negligent either way, but it would be useful to know how negligent-- and if the answer turns out to be, "the kid broke into a lockbox," I'd like to know how the security was defeated.