A HEROIC first-grade teacher who was shot in the classroom by a pupil screamed at other students to run to safety.
Abby Zwerner, 25, was shot by a six-year-old at a school in Virginia on Friday, with authorities saying the shooting was not an accident.
Abby, from Williamsburg, VA, is in critical condition after the student shot her inside a first grade classroom at around 2pm in the city of Newport News, cops say.
Her identity was reportedly confirmed by Sebastian Gonzalez-Hernandez, a parent at the school.
He told DailyMail.com that the brave teacher had even shouted at the other kids in the class to run away, before she was struck by a single bullet.
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Mr Gonzalez-Hernandez added: "Even after she'd been shot she was thinking about the safety of her children.
"She is an amazing teacher, so dedicated. 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."
Footage from Richneck Elementary School showed police vehicles speeding through traffic as they raced to the school.
Police later revealed that the teacher was listed in critical condition but had somewhat improved by late afternoon.
Police Chief Steve Drew said that the child was in custody though it was unclear what charges the six-year-old may face.
He also confirmed that the shooting took place after a confrontation between Abby and the student.
Drew said that shots were fired in only one location, the first grade classroom.
Investigators are still looking into how the child got hold of a firearm.
All of the children were moved to the gym after the shooting and Drew confirmed that they were all safe.
Richneck Elementary was placed on lockdown but an active shooter alert was cancelled.
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“We did not have a situation where someone was going around the school shooting,” the chief told reporters.
No students were injured in the shooting.
Roughly 550 students in kindergarten through fifth grade attend the school, according to the Virginia Department of Education’s website.
Police immediately began the process of reuniting parents with students.
“The number one priority for me is to check on our victim at the hospital and get all these students back with their families,” Chief Drew said.
There will be no classes at the school on Monday.
LEGAL EXPERT WEIGHS IN
Neama Rahmani, former federal prosecutor and president of West Coast Trial Lawyers gave insight into the child’s possible future as the investigation continues.
“The six-year-old won’t be prosecuted for this shooting and I doubt the child will be detained for any significant length of time," Rahmani exclusively told The U.S. Sun.
"Virginia law presumes that a six-year-old can’t be criminally liable and can’t even be held liable in civil court for negligence,” he said.
He added that police will likely investigate how the child got access to the weapon and was able to bring it to school.
The parents will be the first people authorities will look at, the former prosecutor said.
“Virginia makes it a misdemeanor crime to allow a child to access a firearm. But it’s only a misdemeanor, so even if that results in a conviction of the parents or anyone else, the consequences would be minimal,” he said.
“And that’s pretty much the extent of what consequences any adult might face for this shooting.”
Rahmani cited the case of Jennifer and James Crumbley, who were charged after their 15-year-old son, Ethan, allegedly killed four students in the Oxford High School shooting in Michigan on November 30, 2021.
“That prosecution was aided by the fact that they gave their teenage son a firearm as a gift. I doubt those same circumstances apply with this six-year-old, so that makes it harder to charge any adult in this shooting," Rahmani said.
