A teacher who was shot by a six-year-old student "was trying to confiscate the gun", said the parent of another student who witnessed the horrific incident on Friday.
Abby Zwerner, 25, suffered life-threatening injuries but has since improved and is now in a stable condition at a local hospital, police said.
The first-grade class at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia, was in a small reading group about to go to art class when one of their classmates pulled a handgun from his backpack and pointed it at Ms Zwerner.
Brittaney Gregory, whose son was in the class said that the teacher "was going to confiscate the gun, and that's when she was shot".
A child told his mother the shot was so loud he felt like he couldn’t breathe.
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A teacher was injured in a shooting at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia, (Zuma Press/PA Images)The teacher yelled at the other students "Run!" and they raced to another teacher's classroom area, where they stayed in lockdown, the Washington Post reported.
Police Chief Steve Drew said the boy shot and wounded the teacher with a handgun in a first-grade classroom. It is unclear how the six-year-old student got the handgun.
The boy was later taken into police custody. Drew said the shooting was not accidental and was part of an altercation. No students were injured.
The first-grade class at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News was in a small reading group about to go to art when one of their classmates pulled a handgun from his backpack (Getty Images)Gregory described Ms Zwerner as a "sweet lady" and "very attentive to kids", adding that she paid attention to her son and was very communicative during a time that he was acting out.
Moreover, the mum said that her son is "in shock" after witnessing his teacher's shooting and that he is having nightmares and is afraid of sleeping alone.
Gregory rushed to the school within five minutes after learning about the shooting from a neighbour. Asked to comment on the incident, she said: "It’s very devastating. It’s sad that such a young child holds so much anger."
Ms Zwerner is now in a stable condition (Facebook)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.
Virginia law does not allow six-year-olds to be tried as adults. In addition, a six-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 the authority, though, to revoke a parent’s custody and place a child under the purview of the Department of Social Services.
Mayor Phillip Jones told the BBC that Ms Zwerner's recovery was "trending in a positive direction" (Facebook)Mayor Phillip Jones would not say where the boy is being held. He said: "We are ensuring he has all the services that he currently needs right now."
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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.
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