A female teacher in Newport News, Virginia, is in critical condition after being shot Friday afternoon by a six-year-old student.
CNN reports that the shooting occurred at Richneck Elementary School.
Newport News police chief Steve Drew commented on the incident, saying, “This was not an accidental shooting.”
“The individual is a 6-year-old student,” he added. “He is right now in police custody. We have been in contact with our commonwealth attorney and some other entities to help us best get services to this young man.”
The teacher’s condition has improved “slightly,” the New York Times notes.
Newport News superintendent Dr. George Parker said, “I’m in shock, and I’m in awe, and I’m disheartened.”
“I cannot control access to weapons,” Parker continued. “My teachers cannot control access to weapons. Today our students got a lesson in gun violence and what guns can do to disrupt not only an educational environment, but also a family, a community.”
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and a Turning Point USA Ambassador. AWR Hawkins holds a PhD in Military History, with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.