There was no fight, no physical struggle and no warning in the moments before a 6-year-old Virginia boy shot his teacher, US authorities said.
"What we know today is that she was providing instruction. He displayed a firearm, he pointed it and he fired one round," Newport News police Chief Steve Drew said.
Drew gave the first detailed description of a shooting that shocked the city and was notable even in a country like the United States that seems inured to constant gun violence.
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Drew previously said that the shooting was not accidental and had declined to elaborate.
Drew said he wanted to clarify remarks he made just after the shooting on Friday, when he said there was an "altercation" before the shooting.
He said it was more like an "interaction" between the boy and his first-grade teacher at Richneck Elementary School, 25-year-old Abby Zwerner.
But Drew also reiterated that the shooting was "not accidental."
"It was intentional," he said.
Drew also revealed that the 9mm handgun used by the boy was legally purchased by his mother and was in the family's home. He said the boy brought it to school in his backpack the day of the shooting.
Zwerner put up her hand in a defensive position when the gun fired, and the bullet went through her hand and into her upper chest, Drew said.
Although her injuries were initially considered life-threatening, she has improved and is currently listed in stable condition at a hospital.
Drew hailed Zwerner as a hero for quickly hustling her students out of the classroom after she was shot. He said surveillance video shows she was the last person to leave her classroom.
"She made a right turn and started down the hallway, and then she stopped. She turned around and make sure every one of those students was safe," Drew said.
Drew said a school employee rushed into the classroom and physically restrained the boy after hearing the gunshot. He said the boy became "a little combative" and struck the employee.
Police officers arrived and escorted him out of the building and into a police car.
The boy has been held at a medical facility since an emergency custody order and temporary detention order were issued on Friday, Drew said.
He said it will be up to a judge to determine what the next steps are for the boy. He also said the boy's mother has been interviewed by police.
Gun owners can be prosecuted under a Virginia law that prohibits anyone from recklessly leaving a loaded, unsecured gun in a manner that endangers the life or limb of children under 14.
A violation of that law is a misdemeanor, punishable by a maximum jail sentence of one year and a maximum fine of $2,500 (€2,300).
Virginia does not have a law that requires unattended guns to be stored in a particular way or a law that requires gun owners to affirmatively lock their weapons.
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