US teacher shot by 6-year-old hailed as a hero for evacuating kids
- Six-year-old boy in custody, teacher recovering in hospital after shooting at Virginia junior school on Friday
- Police said 25-year-old teacher saved lives by evacuating all her students before seeking her own care
Police have hailed a 25-year-old Virginia teacher as a hero for evacuating students from her classroom even after she was shot by a six-year-old student.
The teacher, Abigail Zwerner, was in stable condition on Monday, following the Friday afternoon shooting at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia, Police Chief Steve Drew told a news conference.
Meanwhile the six-year-old boy was in temporary custody at a medical facility, and a judge had until Tuesday to determine whether to extend a temporary order keeping him in custody, Drew said.
It was too soon to determine whether the boy’s parents might be charged with a crime for failing to secure the weapon, which the boy’s mother had bought legally, he said.
The police chief called Zwerner “a hero”.
“She made sure that every one of those kids were out of that room, that she was the last one to leave. And she took it upon herself in that situation, after suffering a gunshot wound, to make sure that her students … were safe,” Drew said.
The boy had taken the 9mm Taurus handgun from home, placed it in his backpack and removed it while Zwerner was teaching class, Drew said. He pointed and fired once. Zwerner, who took a defensive posture, was shot through the hand and into the chest.