Virginia grand jury indicts mother of six-year-old who shot teacher in class

The child’s mother was charged with felony child neglect and the misdemeanor of recklessly leaving a loaded firearm so as to endanger a child. Photograph: Billy Schuerman/AP

A Virginia grand jury on Monday indicted the mother of a six-year-old who shot an elementary school teacher in Newport News in January, charging her with crimes related to felony child neglect and firearms possession.

On 6 January, 25-year-old teacher Abigail Zwerner was badly wounded by a first-grade student in her classroom at Richneck elementary school – with the incident occurring after school officials received warnings that the boy had a gun at school and was in a “violent mood”.