1st-Grader’s Backpack Searched Before Shooting Teacher In Virginia

(CTN NEWS) – RICHMOND, Va. – The superintendent of the school system in Virginia said that although administrators at the first-grade school where a student shot his teacher last week may have had a weapon on him, they could not locate the 9mm handgun the student brought to school.

Police claimed Friday that they were not informed of the tip before the incident.

A school staffer was informed of a potential gun at Richneck Elementary School before the Jan. 6 shooting, according to Kelly King, a spokesperson for the Newport News Police Department, who talked to The Associated Press shortly after the shooting.

In an email, King stated that the Newport News Police Department had not been informed of this information before the incident.

However, according to Michelle Price, a spokeswoman for the Newport News school system, the gun wasn’t discovered before the incident. The student’s backpack was examined after school officials received the tip.

Regarding the police statement, she refrained from reacting.

According to her, when school officials receive a tip about a possible weapon or another illegal item in a school, “the search usually begins if the tip includes specific information about a particular student or a certain classroom.”

The superintendent has stated that the student’s backpack was checked, but nothing was discovered at the time, Price told The Associated Press.

“I’m not able to speculate as to whether more inspections may have occurred,” Price said.

Price verified that Superintendent George Parker had stated to parents in an online conference on Thursday night that the boy’s possible possession of a firearm had been reported to at least one school official before the 6-year-old student shot the instructor.

WAVY-TV, granted access to the parents-only gathering, was the first to report on Parker’s remarks.

The youngster brought the revolver to school that day in his backpack, according to prior statements made by police chief Steve Drew.

Price claimed she wasn’t informed of where school officials thought the boy’s backpack had the pistol.

Although nothing has been made public, Price stated, “That probably is a part of our internal inquiry and the police investigation.”

When questioned about the source of the weapon tip and whether school authorities should have taken further action after the weapon was not discovered in the boy’s backpack, she declined to respond.

Abigail Zwerner, a 25-year-old teacher, was shot in the chest and was first thought to be in critical condition. However, her condition has improved, and a hospital has announced that she is stable.

Ahead of time on Thursday, Richneck School will get metal detectors, according to Newport News School Board Chair Lisa Surles-Law.

Zwerner was teaching her class when the incident happened on January 6. Before the 6-year-old boy pointed the gun at Zwerner, according to the authorities, there was neither a warning nor a struggle.

According to Drew, the shooting was planned. The child being held at a medical facility due to an emergency custody order will be subject to a judge’s decision over what happens after that.

Drew claimed that the kid used his mother’s legally acquired rifle. It’s unknown how he acquired the weapon. According to Virginia law, it is a misdemeanor to leave a loaded gun where a child under 14 can get it.

Concerns over how a young child could have accessed a gun and brought it to school have spread across the nation in the wake of the shooting. Also raising doubts were reports of the unsuccessful backpack search.

While specifics regarding how the search was conducted are still unknown.

Mo Canady, executive director of the National Association of School Resource Officers, said that the incident serves as a reminder of the need for a thorough search, preferably one handled by a law enforcement officer.

He asked, “How extensively did someone undertake that search?” You must thoroughly inspect every nook and cranny if you truly think there is a firearm because there are some very small firearms.

A bill would require anyone who possesses a gun in a home where a youngster is present to store the gun unloaded and in a locked cabinet as well as all ammunition in a separate locked container.

It was one of the gun safety measures that Virginia Senate Democrats sought to adopt this year.

The primary supporter of the bill, Sen. Jennifer Boysko, stated that “gun violence is the number one cause of death for children in Virginia and in our nation” and that “safe gun custody will help prevent gun deaths and injuries.”

In addition to preventing tragedies like the one in Newport News, my bill will also stop other tragedies including gun accidents, teen suicides, and school shootings.

To promote stronger gun safety laws, more than 200 volunteers from Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action attended a demonstration on Friday and spoke with Virginia politicians.

Members of the organizations, which are part of Everytown for Gun Safety’s grassroots network, stated that among their top priorities are Boysko’s secure storage bill, and legislative action to enhance the government’s red flag law.

And legislative action to raise revenue for initiatives to thwart and act immediately in gun violence.

Boysko’s gun storage bill, according to Philip Van Cleave, president of the Virginia Citizens Defense League and a proponent of gun rights, will prevent gun owners from defending themselves.

Or others promptly during an emergency since it will require them to open one container to obtain the gun, another to get the ammo, and a third to load the pistol.

“That’s absurd if the back door gets kicked in. It’s useless, and it simply fails,” he declared.

“It’s not for situations where getting a gun out of a safe could mean the difference between life and death,” he said.

RELATED CTN NEWS:

Govt Push for Senior Citizens Should Get a Monthly Pension of 3,000 Baht

Nok Air to Launch direct Flights Between Bangkok in Thailand and Hyderabad in India on February 19

Thailand Tourism Wants to Increase Flights During High Seasons and Extend Visas-on-Arrival