Virginia teacher police say was shot by 6-year-old student identified, described as dedicated and hard-working

Richmond, Va. — The Virginia teacher who authorities say was shot by a 6-year-old student is known as a hard-working educator who’s devoted to her students and enthusiastic about the profession that runs in her family, according to fellow teachers and city officials.

John Eley III, a former member of the Newport News School Board, identified the first-grade teacher as Abby Zwerner, 25. Zwerner was shot Friday at Richneck Elementary School, authorities said.

Shortly after the shooting, police said Zwerner had life-threatening injuries, but was listed in stable condition, according to a statement issued Saturday by George Parker III, the Newport News Schools superintendent.

Eley and other city officials met with teachers and the principal at the school Friday and later went to the hospital, where they met with members of Zwerner’s family, including several aunts who also are teachers.

“The family was all educators and said she was excited about doing the job,” said Eley, who was recently elected to the Newport News City Council.

“The custodians and other teachers spoke about how she’s a good teammate, she’s a team player, she loves her children, she’s just an all-around good teacher.”

Cindy Hurst said her granddaughter, 8, is still rattled by the shooting. She was in Zwerner’s class last year, and told her grandmother she is a great teacher.

“I just hate that this happened,” Hurst told The Virginian-Pilot. “But life as we know it may not ever be the same – I don’t know.”

At a rally Sunday of supporters of measures to curb gun violence, Lawonda Sample-Rusk, a grandparent of two children at the school, told CBS Norfolk, Va. affiliate WTKR-TV she was at the school the day of the shooting and jumped into action when Zwerner was shot.

“She said I’m shot, I’m shot. Call 911,” said Rusk said. “We only thought it was somewhere on her hand, but after looking further she passed out on the floor, and then after looking further it was another gunshot wound.”

Rusk said while she didn’t perform CPR, she did apply pressure to Zwerner’s wounds. This all happened in the school office before first responders were able to get to Zwerner.

“I didn’t know what to do, I’m not a medic. I didn’t know what to do. Just instinct,” said Rusk.

Zwerner attended James Madison University, graduating in 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Liberal Studies and minors in Elementary Education and Music. She graduated from JMU’s College of Education in 2020 with a master’s degree in Education.

JMU President Jonathan Alger offered a message of support for Zwerner, her family, friends and fellow teachers, students and their families.

“JMU is prepared to support those impacted by this incident now and in the weeks to come,” Alger tweeted Saturday.

Police Chief Steve Drew said the boy shot and wounded the teacher with a handgun in a first-grade classroom. He was later taken into police custody. Drew said the shooting was not accidental and was part of an altercation. No students were injured.

Police have declined to describe what led to the altercation or any other details about what happened in the classroom, citing the ongoing investigation. They have also declined to say how the boy got access to the gun or who owns the weapon.

One parent of a child in the school reacted angrily when interviewed by WTKR, saying, “You’ve got a beautiful country. You’ve got beautiful people. But what’s the problem? Guns. How does a seven-year-old have a gun? That’s what (angers me). I’m only here because my husband’s in the military. Otherwise, I would not have chosen to come to this country.”

Virginia law doesn’t allow 6-year-olds to be tried as adults. In addition, a 6-year-old is too young to be committed to the custody of the Department of Juvenile Justice if found guilty.

A juvenile judge would have authority, though, to revoke a parent’s custody and place a child under the purview of the Department of Social Services.

“It’s really shocking. You just don’t see this happen in the legal system where you’ve got someone so young intentionally using a firearm against another person,” said Todd Stone, a legal analyst for CBS Richmond, Va. affiliate WTVR, said the child’s parents could be charged but the worst charge they could face would be a misdemeanor.

“The parents could be charged with a misdemeanor, which would be the maximum of 12 months in jail, and realistically, it’s very fact-dependent,” Stone said.  

Mayor Phillip Jones wouldn’t say where the boy is being held.

“We are ensuring he has all the services that he currently needs right now,” Jones said Saturday.

Experts who study gun violence said the shooting represents an extremely rare occurrence of a young child bringing a gun into school and wounding a teacher.

“It’s very rare and it’s not something the legal system is really designed or positioned to deal with,” said researcher David Riedman, founder of a database that tracks U.S. school shootings dating back to 1970.

He said Saturday that he’s only aware of three other shootings caused by 6-year-old students in the time period he’s studied. Those include the fatal shooting of a fellow student in 2000 in Michigan and shootings that injured other students in 2011 in Texas and 2021 in Mississippi.

Riedman said he only knows of one other instance of a student younger than that causing gunfire at a school, in which a 5-year-old student brought a gun to a Tennessee school in 2013 and accidentally discharged it. No one was injured in that case.

Newport News is a city of about 185,000 people in southeastern Virginia known for its shipyard, which builds the nation’s aircraft carriers and other U.S. Navy vessels.

Richneck has about 550 students in kindergarten through fifth grade, according to the Virginia Department of Education’s website. Jones said there will be no classes at the school Monday and Tuesday.