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What we know and don't know about the case of a 6-year-old boy who allegedly shot his teacher

2023-01-10T12:49:22.780Z


In the aftermath of the shooting of a six-year-old boy by his teacher, there are numerous questions that remain unanswered, including how the boy obtained the gun and what are the potential legal repercussions for the student or his guardians. 


USA: 6-year-old boy shot his teacher 0:33

(CNN) --

As many American cities have done before, this time Newport News, Virginia, is dealing with the aftermath of a school shooting.

This time, however, the alleged shooter is only 6 years old, according to police, who said the boy opened fire in a classroom at Richneck Elementary School, sending a teacher to the hospital.

The age of the alleged shooter has left a community and a country reeling at the prospect of a first grader getting a gun, taking it to school and opening fire on her teacher.

Authorities have provided general information about the shooting.

But there are numerous questions that remain unanswered, including how a 6-year-old boy allegedly obtained a gun and what the potential legal repercussions are for the student or his guardians, something city officials have acknowledged in recent days.

"There are a lot of questions we need to answer as a community," Newport News Mayor Phillip Jones told CNN on Sunday, including "how could a 6-year-old have a gun, know how to use it in such a deliberate way?" .

“Responsible individuals will be held accountable,” the mayor said.

"I can promise that."

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Here's a look at what we know—and don't know—about Friday's shooting.

  • A 6-year-old boy is in police custody after shooting a teacher in Virginia, authorities say

The 6-year-old student is in police custody

Police have released few details about the student, other than the fact that he is 6 years old and had been in police custody since Friday, according to Police Chief Steve Drew.

The shooting was not accidental, Drew said, adding that it followed an altercation between the teacher and the student.

There were no other students involved, she said.

The shooting sent students crawling under their desks as parents ran to catch up with their children.

Novah Jones, a fifth-grader, believed there was a man with a gun, she told CNN, adding: "It was my first lockdown and I didn't know what to do, so I hid under my desk like everyone else," said.

Outside, traffic stopped around the school as parents rushed to Richneck Elementary School, said Mark Anthony Garcia, a parent of a second-grader.

"There were police helicopters everywhere outside, traffic was backed up," he told CNN "This Morning" on Monday. "Then there was a 3-mile radius cordoned off parked cars and people running, trying to get to the scene." .

Authorities have contacted the boy's parents, police spokeswoman Kelly King told CNN's Brian Todd on Monday, but could not identify them.

  • The gun a 6-year-old boy allegedly fired at his teacher in Virginia was bought by the boy's mother, police say

Messages of support for teacher Abby Zwerner, who police say was shot by a 6-year-old student.

The messages are posted on the front door of Richneck Elementary School.

(John C. Clark/AP)

The teacher is in a stable condition

Newport News officials have also not identified the victim, but James Madison University, her alma mater, identified the teacher in a statement as Abby Zwerner, who is also listed as a first-grade teacher in Newport's online staff directory. Richneck Elementary.

“All of us at James Madison University are deeply saddened by the reported tragic shooting of JMU alumnus Abby Zwerner,” said University President Jonathan R. Alger.

While his injuries were initially described as life-threatening, he was listed as in stable condition Saturday, the Newport News Police Department said.

In an interview with CNN on Sunday, the Newport News mayor confirmed the victim was in stable condition, adding that city officials had visited the hospital in recent days.

“We have spoken with the family almost every day,” Jones said.

Student likely too young to stand trial, expert says

It is unclear what legal consequences the student responsible for the shooting will or will not face.

While it's technically possible for prosecutors to bring charges against a 6-year-old boy in Virginia, which has no legal age limit, "it's incredibly unlikely that it will lead to a successful prosecution," said Andrew Block, an associate professor at the University of Virginia School of Law.

The main hurdle, Block said, is that the defendant must be found competent to stand trial, which means the court must find that the defendant can understand the nature of the legal proceedings against him and help his lawyers in their case. self defense.

"It's virtually impossible to imagine that a 6-year-old would meet any of the criteria needed to find jurisdiction," said Block, who was also the director of the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice.

Hypothetically, if prosecutors fail to press charges, lawyers for the 6-year-old would have at their disposal "advocacy for children," Block said, which essentially says that anyone under the age of 7 can never be held criminally responsible.

The student would also likely be too young for a detention center if convicted, Block told CNN.

“The juvenile justice system is not set up to handle children this young,” she said.

Courts would have limited options in Virginia, where one must be 11 to be detained in a state facility, Block said.

That leaves other possibilities open, such as residential treatment or “whole” family support services.

Alternatively, the student could be found to be a “child in need of services,” Block said, which would mean the child was “engaging in behavior that places himself or others at serious risk of harm,” and the courts they could intervene to make sure the child received the necessary services.

"Given what little we know, it seems like it would be a more convenient, appropriate and hopefully productive path for people if it ends up going to court," Block said.

It's too early to tell if parents face repercussions

As for the parents, Block said it's "difficult to speculate" without knowing how the 6-year-old got the gun.

There is a scenario in which the parents could be criminally liable if the gun belonged to them and they did not keep it properly locked and secure and out of the reach of their children.

But in Virginia, that's just a Class 1 misdemeanor.

"But we just don't know at this point how he came to possess the gun, why he wanted the gun, what is the context of all this tragedy," Block said.

"So it's hard to know if there is criminal liability or not, and who should have it."

Although King, the police spokeswoman, confirmed that police were in contact with the boy's parents, she could not answer questions about whether they were in custody, facing criminal charges or cooperating with investigators.

Shootings in the United States

Source: cnnespanol

All news articles on 2023-01-10

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