NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — The 9 mm handgun a 6-year-old student used to shoot a teacher at Richneck Elementary School was secured with a trigger lock and kept out of the boy’s reach at the family’s Newport News home, according to an attorney representing the child’s mother.
On Thursday, the boy’s family issued its first public comments since the Jan. 6 shooting, expressing sympathy for 25-year-old teacher who was wounded and disclosing that the boy suffers from “an acute disability” and was under a specialized care plan at school.
The family’s statement said the gun was secured.
“Our family has always been committed to responsible gun ownership and keeping firearms out of the reach of children,” the statement said.
The mother’s attorney, James Ellenson, elaborated in an interview Thursday that the mother had a safety lock on the firearm.
“It was out of reach of the child,” he said. “It was on the top shelf of a closet.”
A trigger lock is a mechanism that fits over a gun’s trigger and prevents the weapon from being fired unless it’s removed by a key or combination. Ellenson declined to speculate on how the boy overcame that precaution.
“I don’t think any of us know,” he said. “We don’t know … She has no idea how the child got the gun.”
The family’s statement also disclosed the boy was under a care plan in which his parents attended school with him. But on Jan. 6 — the day the boy suddenly shot his teacher in the middle of class — the parents were not at the school.
“The week of the shooting was the first week when we were not in class with him,” the family’s statement said. “We will regret our absence on this day for the rest of our lives.”
The shooting has garnered national attention given the boy’s age, and fueled outrage among teachers, parents and students who say the Newport News school administration has downplayed and failed to address ongoing student behavior problems.
No charges have been filed against either the first grader — and are highly unlikely because of his age — or his parents. Police say the boy’s mother purchased the gun legally. The case is still under investigation — with detectives continuing to review records and interview witnesses — and will be sent to Newport News prosecutors to decide on charges.
Ellenson released the family’s statement the day after a Daily Press and Virginian-Pilot reporter left a note at the apartment of the boy’s grandmother in Newport News. She said she would turn over the note and an interview request to the family’s attorney.
The statement does not identify the boy or the family, and the newspapers are not naming the boy’s parents, given that no charges have been filed.
Newport News Police Chief Steve Drew said the boy gained access to his mother’s gun at home, put it in a book bag and carried it to school that morning. Before the shooting, police said, a school employee was notified the boy potentially had brought a weapon to school.
The student’s bag was searched by a school official, but no gun was found. At some point, Drew said, the boy had removed the gun from his backpack “and had it on his person.”
Just before 2 p.m., in the middle of class, the boy pointed the gun at his teacher, 25-year-old Abigail Zwerner, and fired a single round that struck the teacher in her hand, then the chest. No motive has been provided.
Police spokesperson Kelly King said police weren’t told before the shooting about the report of a gun at the school.
“I would rather have the information right away,” Drew said during an online community Facebook discussion this week.
Zwerner was released from Riverside Regional Medical Center this week and “continues her recovery as an outpatient with the support of family, friends, and health professionals,” a hospital spokesperson said.
Since the shooting, the 6-year-old “has been under hospital care and receiving the treatment he needs,” the family’s statement said. The boy is undergoing treatment at a medical facility, which a family member said is the Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters in Norfolk.
The family’s statement didn’t identify the nature of the boy’s “acute disability.”
Two sources with knowledge of the situation said a hearing was held in Newport News Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court last week on a request for an Emergency Removal Order, in which a social services agency sought custody of the 6-year-old.
Court clerks declined to release the judge’s decision or any paperwork from that petition, citing confidentiality surrounding juvenile court records.
But Newport News city spokesperson Kim Lee said the boy was “in the custody of the Newport News Department of Human Services” as of Friday, and King said the agency is “handling any current or future placement” of the first grader.
The Department of Human Services is a branch of the Virginia Department of Social Services, a state agency responsible for ensuring proper care for children statewide.
The statement from the boy’s family said the family was praying for Zwerner, and that she “selflessly served our son and the children in the school.”
“She has worked diligently and compassionately to support our family as we sought the best education and learning environment for our son,” the statement said. “We thank her for her courage, grace and sacrifice.”
“We continue to pray for his teacher’s full recovery, and for her loved ones who are undoubtedly upset and concerned. At the same time, we love our son and are asking that you please include him and our family in your prayers.”
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