The student who shot his teacher was searched by administrators hours earlier, a school official said (Picture: AP)
Administrators at a Virginia elementary school were warned that a six-year-old may have a gun the same day he shot his teacher, a superintendent said.
A school administrator at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News searched the first grade shooter’s backpack the same morning he fired a single shot at his teacher, but failed to find any weapons.
Superintendent George Parker told Newport News parents about the search at an online town hall meeting on Thursday night.
The meeting was not open to the public, but a concerned parent gave local station WAVY access.
Abby Zwerner was identified as the first grade teacher shot by a student at Richneck Elementary School (Picture: Facebook/Abby Zwerner)
‘At least one administrator was notified of a possible weapon,’ Parker told the parents. The search happened two hours before the shooting took place.
A spokesperson for the Newport News Police Department confirmed that the student’s backpack was searched before the shooting, and the search was reported to investigators.
Last Friday afternoon, Richneck first grade teacher Abby Zwerner was shot in the chest by the same student, who pulled a firearm out of his backpack.
Zwerner was hospitalized immediately after the shooting in critical condition. She has since begun recovering.
Police later said confirmed that the gun belonged to the student’s mother, who had purchased it legally. It is not clear how the child was able to access the firearm.
Meanwhile, school administrators announced that Richneck Elementary School would begin installing metal detectors. The district already uses them in middle and high schools.
‘We just got our approval to purchase them yesterday. We are in the process of making those orders. We have requested that we get the ones for Richneck immediately,’ School Board Chair Lisa Surles-Law said on Thursday.
Superintendent Parker also said he is considering requiring students to wear clear plastic see-through backpacks, which would be purchased by the school district.
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‘At least one administrator was notified of a possible weapon.’