Newly unsealed court documents reveal that the first-grader who shot his teacher earlier this year later bragged to school officials, claiming “I shot that b**** dead.”
Abigail “Abby” Zwerner was left with severe injuries to her torso and her hand after being shot on 6 January at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia.
The six-year-old boy who pulled the trigger of his mother’s gun made the shocking comments, according to the unsealed search warrants obtained by WTKR.
“I did it,” the boy told school officials just after the shooting, according to the affidavit. “I got my mom’s gun last night.”
The mother of the student pleaded guilty to federal gun charges in connection with the incident as part of a plea deal. She will be sentenced in October.
One of the staff members was Amy Kovac, a reading specialist at the school, who heard from two students on the day of the shooting who said the six-year-old had a gun in his book bag.
Ms Kovac notified school administration and the boy’s bag was checked while he was at recess, but no gun was found, the warrant revealed.
When the class returned from recess, Ms Kovac heard a gunshot from the classroom and several children fled, according to the warrant. Ms Zwerner was also seen running from the classroom bleeding from her hand and torso.
Ms Kovac entered the classroom to find the six-year-old boy with the gun on the floor next to him. She held him in place until police could respond to the scene.
It was then that he told her, “I shot that b**** dead,” according to the search warrant.
Ms Zwerner spoke to police from the hospital where she was treated for her injuries.
She recalled how the boy pulled the gun from his pocket and pointed it at her as she asked, “What are you doing with that?”
The boy paused, Ms Zwerner said and “then fired one shot that struck Zwerner in her left hand and upper torso,” according to the affidavit.
Ms Zwerner has since filed a $40m lawsuit against Newport News Public Schools, alleging officials of ignoring several warnings about the student leading up to the shooting.
The warrant also detailed how Ms Zwerner allegedly told investigators there had been multiple “disciplinary incidents” involving the boy before the shooting. The incidents involved physical violence and threats of violence.
A retired Newport News elementary school teacher who had been assigned to Richneck told investigators that she was choked in September 2021 by the same student.
“This affiant was able to obtain limited school records pertaining to [the student] from Child Protective Services,” the search warrant reads.
The shooting happened on 6 January at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia— (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
“The incident to which [the kindergarten teacher] describes above is not found in these records. This affiant believes that [the kindergarten teacher] incident and possibly others were not readily provided by Newport News Public Schools.”
James Ellenson, a lawyer for the child’s family told CNN on Tuesday that the child is in therapy and has shown improvement.
“The child had extreme emotional issues, and we are all working to see that he improves every day,” he said.
Newport News Public Schools released a statement on Tuesday.
“Since the tragedy at Richneck Elementary School in January, Newport News Public Schools has worked cooperatively with the Newport News Police Department and other authorities in support of the investigation. While the school division cannot comment on legal actions, NNPS remains committed to ensuring the well-being and care of all students and staff.”
