6-Year-Old Boy Who Shot His Teacher Won't Face Criminal Charges, Says Prosecutor

A prosecutor in Newport News, Virginia, announced on Wednesday night that a six-year-old child who shot his teacher in January will not be prosecuted.

Abigail Zwerner was wounded on Jan. 6 at Richneck Elementary School while she was instructing a class, critically injuring her.

According to a lawsuit filed on Zwerner's behalf against the Newport News school system, the student was suspended from school for one day for damaging a teacher's cell phone.

Teachers also informed administrators about the student's behavior and their suspicion that he was carrying a gun.

The deputy principal of the school resigned, and the district superintendent was fired "without cause".

Howard Gwynn, the commonwealth's attorney for Newport News, has not yet determined whether the child's parents, who possessed the gun, will be held accountable for the child's actions.

He questioned whether there were legal grounds to charge the kid in a statement to an NBC affiliate on Wednesday, stating that the "prospect that a six-year-old can face trial is problematic".

We don't think the law warrants accusing a six-year-old of a crime this serious, Gwynn said to 13NewsNow.

According to the police, the mother legally bought the gun. The pistol was "secured" with a trigger lock on the top shelf of a closet, according to James Ellenson, an attorney for the child's family.

He also stated that the parents were unaware of how the child gained access to the gun. The child was given mental health The child was given mental health care.

The family have said the child has an acute disability, adding that they were "always been committed to responsible gun ownership and keeping firearms out of the reach of children."

The parents could face a misdemeanor charge for having access to the gun in Virginia.

Steve Drew, the city's police superintendent, revealed last month that investigators were speaking with those connected to the case.

No one in the cohort of 16 to 20 students was hurt. Zwerner escorted them out as a school employee restrained the child.

Zwerner's attorney, Diane Toscano, has said the shooting was "entirely preventable", had administrators taken action when "they had knowledge of imminent danger".

"Instead, they failed to act and Abby was shot," Toscano said.

Gwynn said: "Our objective is not just to do something as quickly as possible. Once we analyze all the facts, we will charge any person or persons that we believe we can prove beyond a reasonable doubt committed a crime," reports The Guardian.

According to the Washington Post, there have been seven shootings at US schools so far this year, inflicting three injuries. The number of school killings in 2017 was 46, the highest number since 1999.

Shootings by a child on campus remain extremely rare. The K-12 School Shooting Database's founder, David Riedman, told NBC News that there had only been 17 killings involving children younger than 10 since 1970.