A 6-year-old boy from Virginia, who shot his first-grade teacher in January, later boasted during a conversation that he had pulled the trigger. This information comes from search warrants that have now been unsealed.
As per documents obtained by WTKR-TV, the child told a school official that “I shot that [offensive word] dead,” referring to the incident where he aimed a gun at Abigail Zwermer, a teacher at Richneck Elementary School, on January 6.
“I did it,” the boy confided in school officials in Newport News, according to an affidavit. “I got my mom’s gun last night.”
On January 6, just before 2 p.m. EDT, authorities were alerted to the school after a student intentionally shot Abigail Zwermer while she was teaching her class. The police reported that a single shot went through her hand and into her chest.
The bullet passed through Zwerner’s left hand, which she had raised as the boy opened fire, and then struck her upper chest and shoulder, as stated in the Virginian-Pilot.
In April, Zwermer filed a $40 million lawsuit against the Newport News School Board and several former administrators, as reported by WAVY-TV. Zwermer’s lawyer, Diane Toscano, accused the school board and three former administrators of gross negligence and reckless breach of duty.
The lawsuit claimed that school officials had not adequately protected Zwerner from the student despite receiving multiple warnings.
According to the affidavit, detectives interviewed Zwermer at the hospital a few hours after the shooting, as reported by the Virginian-Pilot. Zwermer recounted that she was organizing her class into reading groups after recess when the boy pulled a gun from his hoodie pocket and pointed it at her.
“What are you doing with that?” Zwerner asked, according to the affidavit.
After a brief pause, the boy fired a single shot, the Virginian-Pilot stated. Students fled the classroom, and Zwermer did as well. Amy Kovac, a school reading specialist, rushed into the room, according to the affidavit.
Kovac found the boy standing by his desk with a loaded 9 mm handgun on the floor, the affidavit detailed. She restrained the child and held him until authorities arrived.
Zwerner apparently informed investigators that there had been several “disciplinary incidents” involving the boy before the shooting, as reported by WTKR. These incidents allegedly involved physical violence and threats of violence, which had been reported to school administrators.
In April, Deja Nicole Taylor, the boy’s 25-year-old mother from Newport News, was charged with felony neglect and a misdemeanor count of recklessly leaving a firearm in a manner that endangered a child, according to the Virginian-Pilot.
