Officials give update on Richneck Elementary school shooting NEWPORT NEWS SCHOOL BOARD PLANS TO DISCUSS SEPARATION AGREEMENT WITH SUPERINTENDENT. Toscano wrote in her letter to the school district that Zwerner took the information directly to Assistant Principal Ebony Parker, who is not related to the former superintendent with the same last name. The schools principal and assistant principal have both resigned after it was revealed that administrators were warned about the armed student three times the day of the shooting. Police said the boy's mother legally purchased the 9 mm Taurus pistol. Another message from a teacher obtained by the Post details disturbing behavior by the student before the shooting. Mother of 6-year-old who shot Richneck teacher turns herself in That includes requests for particular documents and a series of questions to the board that the teachers lawyers want answered. Mark Anthony Garcia, a parent of a second-grade boy, said he learned of the shooting when his wife called him, herself having gleaned the news from local station WAVY-TV. PHOTOS: First-grader shoots teacher at Virginia school The school announced it would be closed the following Monday. Before that day, due to an unspecified disability, the boy followed a special schedule in which his parents shadowed him to and during class, the family said in a statement last month. Diane Toscano, Zwerners lawyer, has said teachers relayed several warnings to administrators on the morning of the shooting, including at least three reports that the boy had a gun. Before the shooting, there was one security officer shared between Richneck Elementary and another school in the district. The 6-year-old boys mother, who has not been identified, purchased the gun legally, police said. Michele Mitchell, who served as executive director of student advancement at the time, was chosen to serve as interim superintendent. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Richneck Elementary shooting: What we know At 12:20 p.m., after the first-graders finished lunch and sat through a brief Reading period, they were supposed to head outside for recess, according to the Richneck daily schedule. The letter was first reported by the Daily Press. We will regret our absence on this day for the rest of our lives., Since the shooting, the statement added, the boy has been in a hospital receiving the treatment he needs.. Grandmother rushes to aid teacher shot at Richneck Elem. That means Zwerners lawyers will get access to such documents, but cant share them with the public or others outside of the court process. The district has secured funding for 90 state-of-the-art metal detectors that will be placed at all district schools, officials said. In the statement, the family said they are praying for Abby Zwerner. Among other things, she contends one administrator failed to respond to clear threats that the boy had a gun on him that day. First-grade teacher Abby Zwerner was shot Jan. 6th by a 6-year-old student at Richneck Elementary School. Gwynn said they would have to show that "any defendant, including a 6-year-old," is competent to stand trial and understands the legal system enough to help with their defense. HAMPTON ROADS, Va. It has been just over three months since officials confirmed a teacher was shot by her 6-year-old student at Richneck Elementary School. Police respond to a shooting Jan. 6 at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Va., where authorities say a 6-year-old boy wounded a teacher. That means Zwerners lawyers can go forward with dozens of requests for interviews, written responses to questions and documents. Asking (the board) to state all such information would literally include any person who has read a newspaper article about the incident amounting to potentially millions of people, the board said in response. A Newport News police spokeswoman said authorities also determined that "a school employee was notified of a possible firearm at Richneck Elementary before the shooting occurred," adding, "The Newport News Police Department was not notified of this information prior to the incident.". The lawsuit claims at least one Newport News school administrator was warned the student had a gun but failed to act. The Newport News School Board filed a motion for a protective order to keep documents between its legal team and the attorneys of former Richneck Elementary teacher Abby Zwerner private. Zwerners attorneys requested a large number of records about school staff, students, and discipline through discovery; however, they say the school board has only returned a limited amount of information to them, arguing that other records theyve requested are sensitive or irrelevant to the case. A civil suit was drafted and was ready to file on behalf of Abby Zwerner, according to her lawyer Diane Toscano. Zwerners lawyers say limiting her claim to a workers comp is nonsense that being shot by a first-grade student isnt a reasonable expectation of her teaching job. Instead, the board says, the teacher is entitled only to what she would get as a normal payout under the workers compensation act. Police Chief Steve Drew said the shooting was not. ", The family also said that their son "suffers from an acute disability and was under a care plan at the school that included his mother or father attending school with him and accompanying him to class every day.". Zwerner told a colleague she had glimpsed the shooter take something out of his backpack and put it in his pocket and feared it might be a gun, spurring that colleague to bring concerns to Assistant Principal Parker, Toscano wrote in her letter. A trial may not happen until the end of 2024 or in 2025 due to the judge's schedule. By 2:45 p.m., Garcia said, police began reuniting anxious mothers and fathers with their children. The administrator told the employee to "wait the situation out because the school day was almost over," Toscano said. Jan. 25, 2023. Lawonda Sample-Rusk, a grandparent of two children at the school, told us that before first responders arrived, she and a receptionist stayed by the injured teacher's side. Further details weren't made available about who conducted the search, why the gun wasnt found and whether the child's clothing was examined. View this post on InstagramA post shared by WTKR News 3 (@wtkr3). The Virginia teacher who was shot by her 6-year-old student texted a loved one before she was wounded that the boy was armed and that school officials were failing to act, according to a source close to the situation. You know, a lot of people panicking, a lot of confusion, traffic backed up over there, nobody knew where to get the kids from, so we all had to walk all the way around. School, Vigil aims to lift up teacher in hospital after shooting, Major shakeup in leadership at Richneck Elementary School, Parents say gun son used in Richneck shooting was secured, CNU dedicate basketball game to Richneck Elementary, 2 more lawsuits filed against Newport News schools after Richneck Elem. Everybody have their ID in their hand, an officer shouted through a megaphone. In a letter to Richneck families Karen Lynch, the school's extended learning supervisor, said a group of fifth graders were texting Saturday when one of them said they would "pop some bullets" and "tell someone to shoot up the class.". NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) For the first time, the family of a six-year-old accused of shooting his first-grade teacher at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News on January 6 has issued. Although disc golf has origins dating as far back as the 1920s, it has recently become popular. Shortly after, a different teacher alerted administrators about the boy after a student said the 6-year-old showed him the gun and threatened to shoot him. Death toll in Pakistan mosque bombing reaches 32: 'Terrori Three teens accused of murder after egging incident goes haywire: police, Long Island HS football player taken off life support after collapsing during summer workout drills: report, The blueprint is set to end Biden's shaky reign in the White House, Tina Knowles LA home burglarized, over $1 million in cash and jewelry stolen, Mayor Adams pal William Benson accused of piggybacking on hot bash, Hot comic Matt Rife dating actress Jessica Lord after Lucy Hale split, Today's Iconic Moment in New York Sports History: Derek Jeter goes yard for hit number 3,000, Purge 6 Director Reveals Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene Inspired The Films Broken America, Jessica Simpson shows off her booty in $1,300 backless bedazzled jeans. Its unclear how the boy, whose family has said he has an acute disability, gained access to the weapon. ", Asked about Zwerners text message and previous safety concerns from teachers and staff members, Newport News Public Schools spokesperson Michelle Price said: Anything that has been reported to our school leadership team in regards to concerns at Richneck from teachers and staff members is part of the investigation. The boards lawyers assert that because Zwerner was shot on the job, she suffered a workplace injury and cannot file suit in Circuit Court. The school district has had three instances of gun violence in 17 months. Everybody had to get their cars, and they had to drive over to the church. It was not immediately clear how administrators responded to those episodes, although one educator wrote in a text this fall that the bruised teacher had heard nothing from admin., On Nov. 9, the second-grade teacher wrote in a text message to a colleague that she was applying to work in another district because of how bad the first graders are right now put together with the fact we dont have doors., The second-grade teacher added, referencing administrative failures, Its only gonna get worse..
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