The mother of a 6-year-old boy who brought her gun to a Virginia elementary school and shot his teacher could face charges, according to the chief of the Newport News Police Department.
Police confirmed that the boy took the 9mm gun from his home and brought it to school in his backpack, and that there was no fight, physical struggle or warning before he allegedly opened fire in his first grade classroom on Friday.
The boy's mother legally purchased the weapon. Although authorities haven't disclosed how the child got access to the gun, they are considering charging his mother.
"I think that is certainly a possibility," Chief Steve Drew told CNN. "We need to check with Child Protective Services on any history. We need to check with the school system on any behavioral issues they might have and put those together."
"And at the end of the day, when that's all compiled together and the facts and what the law supports, the Commonwealth's attorney will make the decision if there are any charges forthcoming … towards the parents," Drew said.
Though Virginia has no law that requires unattended guns to be stored or locked in a particular way, gun owners can be prosecuted under a state law that prohibits anyone from recklessly leaving a loaded, unsecured gun in a manner that endangers the life or limb of children under 14, the Associated Press reported. The misdemeanor is punishable by a maximum jail sentence of one year and a maximum fine of $2,500.
The shooting occurred Friday at Richneck Elementary School, where the first-grader shot 25-year-old Abigail Zwerner while she was teaching class, police said. She's still recovering in a local hospital.
Zwerner was "providing class instruction when the child displayed a firearm, pointed it at her and fired one round," Drew said during a news conference. "There was no physical struggle or fight."
The bullet went through Zwerner's hand, which she raised in defense, and into her upper chest. The shooting was "not accidental," Drew added, "it was intentional."
After the shooting, the boy was physically restrained by another school employee and then taken into custody by police. He's being held at a medical facility. Tt will be up to a judge to determine what the next steps are, Drew said.
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