Parents wonder how 6-year-old Virginia boy shot teacher after his backpack was searched.

[ShazzieB]

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Parents at the Virginia elementary school where a 6-year-old boy shot a first-grade teacher this month are demanding answers for how the child managed to use the weapon after his backpack was searched.

“That doesn’t make sense to me. If the backpack was searched, they didn’t search it right,” said Desiree Yvette, whose 6-year-old daughter witnessed the Jan. 6 shooting at Richneck Elementary School in which Abigail Zwerner was critically wounded.

Yvette continued: “They didn’t physically go in there to make sure that there wasn’t anything there. If that was the case, then someone should have been able to see it. They should have searched other places if they felt there was a need to search. And if they didn’t — they failed.”

Yvette was among a group of Richneck parents who spoke to NBC News on Sunday and questioned how thoroughly the child, his backpack and the school were searched before the shooting in Zwerner’s class as she was teaching about 20 students.

MUCH MORE: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/parents-wonder-6-year-old-virginia-boy-shot-teacher-backpack-was-searc-rcna65914

This is one time when 4 paragraphs aren't nearly enough to convey the gist of this article. I highly recommend reading the whole thing. There's no paywall, and the article contains a ton of information that was new, at least to me.

[RandySF]

1. I hate to go parent bashing

but where did the kid get the gun?

[elleng]

2. 'Parent bashing' may be appropriate,

and no reason NOT to do so.

[iwillalwayswonderwhy]

4. I read the article

The gun belonged to the mother. They are now investigating if the gun was properly secured.

What? Obviously it wasn’t secured.

[elleng]

6. Obviously

[3catwoman3]

11. There wouldn't seem to be much question here. The old phrase...

..."No shit, Sherlock," springs to mind.

(Directed to the investigators, not to you, , iwillalways)

[SheltieLover]

7. Absolutely!

[Baitball Blogger]

10. +1

This article spent entirely too much time blaming the school.

[lindysalsagal]

3. Americans won't admit we have a gun problem. Blame principals.

Avoid, avoid, avoid.

[SoCalDavidS]

5. Backpack Searches Are Only Necessary In Shithole Countries Like America nt

[SheltieLover]

8. Child should never have had access to a gun & now this.

[TigressDem]

9. Backpack was empty when searched. No security guard that day.

And besides... who really thinks a 6 year old is going to bring a gun?

UNTIL NOW.

But if kid knew backpack would be searched at the office (he came in late so had to go to the office) he could have put it inside his jacket and when he left the office to go to class put it back in the backpack.

Someone saw a gun and reported to some adult at the school who notified an administrator, but it was too late by the time they found out.

SCHOOL is talking about installing metal detectors and possibly having kids go to SEE THRU book bags so things like this wouldn't happen at the school.

EDIT: Some Info found was in links in the OP article
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/parents-wonder-6-year-old-virginia-boy-shot-teacher-backpack-was-searc-rcna65914



WHAT REALLY FREAKED ME OUT earlier today was the TODDLER with a loaded gun.
Must have had the SAFETY on because he pointed it at himself and pulled the trigger but it didn't go off.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11637899/Wild-moment-toddler-waves-loaded-HANDGUN-points-pulls-trigger.html

[BigmanPigman]

15. That is what I was thinking, too.

I taught 1st grade for over 15 years and 6 years olds are smart and sneaky when they want to be. When I saw the video of the toddler with a gun all I could think of was the fact that I have never touched, let alone seen a gun in my 60 years. There is something seriously wrong with this country and it isn't the children with guns, it is the parents who buy guns and allow this sort of behavior to happen. Put the blame where it belongs...the parents! "The nuts don't fall,far from the tree", we teachers say. We know, we know!!! Go to the source...the gun makers, the gun lobbyists, the gun loving lawmakers, the adults who purchase them, the voters who reelect them, etc.

[albacore]

12. Yeah....teacher/school fault!

When I was getting my BA, my second BA, and my MA while teaching, we just didn't pay close enough attention in "backpack searching" class.
We did a shitty job of picking up the subtleties of interrogating 6-yr-olds about their handguns, too.
We were just too focused on pedagogy and subject matter.

Fuck that blaming the schools shit!

Blame the gun-loving ammosexuals.

[sheshe2]

13. The school has a lot to answer for as well.

-Backpack not searched properly
-Parents weren't notified there was a shooting, heard it on the news
-No AM security
-The school district has had three instances of gun violence in 17 months.

The whole situation was a major fuck up.

[Cuthbert Allgood]

16. So we're blaming the school and not, you know, the parents. And our gun culture?

Maybe I'm a little raw from years of being shit on as a teacher, but maybe we move to body cavity searches for every kid that comes in the door and that will make people happy.

[dsc]

18. Most elementary schools do not have police or security

the rest of your post is fair.

[sheshe2]

20. The article mentioned that they have no security there in the morning.

I was posting what the article said.

[dsc]

21. Security in elementary schools would be

Insanely expensive. Most districts have 3 elementary schools for each high school they have. Adding security to elementary schools would more than double the cost

[GPV]

24. My school has zero security.

[pinkstarburst]

25. Yes and No

-Backpack not searched properly
-Parents weren't notified there was a shooting, heard it on the news

The screw up with how the backpack/property search was conducted was a definite screw up. If they had a report the student had a gun, they should have searched his backpack, his cubby, his jacket, and checked any other areas of the classroom he might have had access to.

Not contacting the parents is a mistake.

-No AM security
-The school district has had three instances of gun violence in 17 months.

These are not the fault of the school.

I'm a former teacher. Most elementary schools do NOT have security guards or police stationed on campus. This is only standard on middle school and high school campuses. It is more common for there to be school district police who will go to an elementary campus to deal with serious issues as they occur, but an urban district might have an officer assigned to cover multiple campuses, rather than one who stays at a single campus all day.

It's a shame the school district has had three instances of gun violence in 17 months, but this is not the fault of the school. It's the fault of the students who are bringing guns/violence into the school. The school serves its community and some communities are home to more gun violence than others.

[Rhiannon12866]

14. Thanks for posting, I've been looking for updated news on this, how could this happen?

He previously has said that the child’s mother legally bought the 9 mm Taurus firearm used in the shooting and that the boy took the gun from his home. Whether it was properly secured is a key element in the investigation, Drew has said.

[wnylib]

17. Imagine the trauma for the kids who witnessed the shooting.

And for the teacher, who likely will not go back to a classroom after she recovers. I know that I wouldn't. I would not be able to bring myself to do it.

[Cha]

19. TY for Rec reading it all, SB.. it's just

all so bizarre. And, I've been wanting to understand this..

I don't understand that “a school employee was notified of a possible firearm at Richneck Elementary before the shooting occurred,”

"Possible"? Either it was or it wasn't.. no in between if they checked the kid's backpack. Or how else would they know?

Also, how could the "gun have been secure in the home IF the child brought it to school hidden in his backpack?

Of course the kids are Traumatized.. poor little things.

I did read that their teacher, , walked them to safety after she was shot.

[JI7]

22. THe parents are failures. Keep a gun which your kid is able to get and then expect

others to make sure your kid doesn't bring a gun to school.

There is so much fucked up in that type of thinking .

I can understand other parents having some of these complaints. But the ones who owned the gun. fuck them.

[no_hypocrisy]

23. As a tangent subject, this is exactly why I object to school systems

that advocate for teachers to be armed.

I have been a substitute teacher in pretty rough districts; even the elementary schools have kids who don't act like children.

I have watched as some children go up to my teacher's desk, open drawers, and take stuff. Imagine if there had been a loaded gun in the drawer. Either the other students -- or the teacher -- is in peril with a very young child who wants his way and has a gun to get it.

In this particular case, why wasn't the six year old physically searched (with witnesses for liability purposes), his desk searched, or just sent home that day?

[pinkstarburst]

26. I find it absolutely bizarre that no charges

have been brought against the parents. All this talk of needing to figure out if the gun was left unsecured. Either the gun was left unsecured where the 6 year old could get to it, or the mom/dad handed the gun to the 6 year old. Only two options. In either case, they ought to be arrested.