Prosecutor Won’t Charge 6-Year-Old Accused of Shooting Teacher

A local prosecutor said Wednesday that he won’t charge the 6-year-old boy accused of shooting a teacher at his Virginia elementary school.

“We don’t believe the law supports charging a 6-year-old with a criminal offense as serious as this one,” Newport News Commonwealth’s Attorney Howard Gwynn told ABC Hampton, Virginia, affiliate WVEC {snip}

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.

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The incident occurred at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News on Jan. 6. The 6-year-old, who has not been named publicly, allegedly brought a handgun from his home to school in his backpack and shot and wounded a teacher in a first-grade classroom in what police described as an “intentional” act.

The teacher, Abigail Zwerner, sustained a gunshot wound to the chest. {snip}

Abby Zwerner

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Police said the boy’s mother legally purchased the 9 mm Taurus pistol.

The 6-year-old’s family released a statement through a spokesperson in the wake of the incident, saying, “Our family has always been committed to responsible gun ownership and keeping firearms out of the reach of children.”

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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,” the family said. {snip}

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The student had been suspended the day before the shooting because he “slammed Ms. Zwerner’s phone breaking it” and had cursed at the guidance counselors” {snip}

The student had allegedly been removed from the school a year prior after he “choked his teacher until she couldn’t breathe” {snip}

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