Picture of a first grade classroom representing Abby Zwerner’s classroom.
Picture taken by Wikimedia Commons
Picture of a first grade classroom representing Abby Zwerner’s classroom.
Picture taken by Wikimedia Commons
By: Angela Lukesh
January 9, 2023
The life of a 6-year-old little boy in Newport News, Virginia, was turned upside down on Friday the 6th when he got into an altercation with his teacher and revealed a gun that had been stored away in his backpack. The little boy then proceeded to point the gun at his teacher and pulled the trigger which hit her, through her hand and into her upper chest. In the process scaring all his classmates.
Although the teacher was shot with one round that struck through her hand and into her upper chest, she still managed the strength and courage to get the rest of her students to safety before calling for help for herself, while another teacher was struggling to detain the 6-year-old who was being combative and struck the employee restraining him. The little boy’s name has not been revealed along with his parent's names, but as for the teacher's name, her name was revealed to be Abigail “Abby” Zwerner who is 25 years of age. She is now improving in the hospital while in stable condition. Even though the shooting was not accidental, it was intentional, Virginia law does not allow 6-year-olds to be tried as adults. This means that a 6-year-old is too young to be committed to the custody of the Department of Juvenile Justice if found guilty. Meanwhile, the registered firearm was under the name of the boy's mom, the parents are now looking to be faced with charges on their behalf for leaving a gun open to the boy.
When interviewing Yaxiry Reyna-Herrera she stated, “It’s crazy to think what goes through a 6-year-old mind, like I can’t imagine what he must have seen or been exposed to, to act out in such a negative way. I don’t know how I would have reacted.” Speaking of this, the police have been investigating how the boy was able to get the gun, but still have not released anything. Also including that this was not the first time this little boy had brought something dangerous to school, before the gun he had brought bullets. Stay safe everyone, the unthinkable could happen anytime.