Abigail 'Abby' Zwerner: Virginia teacher, 25, yelled at students to get to safety after 6-yr-old shot her
Warning: This article contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some, readers' discretion advised
NEWPORT NEWS, VIRGINIA: A first-grade teacher shot by her six-year-old student following an altercation reportedly screamed for her students to get to safety. Abigail "Abby" Zwerner, 25, was shot in the chest in a classroom at Richneck Elementary School, around 2 pm on Friday, January 6, following which she was rushed to the Riverside Regional Medical Center in critical condition. No students were harmed in the senseless school shooting, said police.
The six-year-old gunman is in police custody and his identity has not been disclosed so far. A fellow student's parent, Sebastian Gonzalez-Hernandez, spoke of the teacher's selflessness in the terrifying situation and said, "She screamed at her kids to run away," after the student fired a single bullet, revealed Daily Mail. "Even after she'd been shot she was thinking about the safety of her children," Gonzalez-Hernandez said.
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UPDATE: @NewportNewsPD says one adult was shot. Injuries unknown at this time. They were taken to hospital. No students injured. Here's a view from outside the school from Chopper 10 @WAVY_News pic.twitter.com/TYDOcEqXO6
— Brett Hall (@BrettHNews) January 6, 2023
Gonzalez-Hernandez did not reveal the name of his six-year-old child but confirmed he was was present in the classroom when the shooting occurred. "My son didn't see what happened, he heard the gunshot go off, and turned around to see Miss Zwerner on the floor. She is an amazing teacher, so dedicated," he remarked. "My son absolutely loves her, and we're devastated about what's happened. We are all thinking of her and hoping that she gets better soon," added Gonzalez-Hernandez.
"This was not an accidental shooting," Newport News Police Chief Scott Drew said at a press conference on Friday. It was in a classroom, an altercation took place there. We did not have a situation where someone was going around the school shooting. We had a situation in one particular location where a gunshot was fired," he added.
Meanwhile, a grandmother of one of students claimed the child shooter had allegedly "brought bullets to school last week and said he would bring his gun." However it is not confirmed if it was the same child involved in the shootings. The grandmother alleged the school was aware about the incident and did not take action. An investigation is ongoing as police are trying to figure out how a child got a gun.