Teacher Shot by Boy, 6, Got Kids to Safety: Cops

Abigail Zwerner was reportedly the last one to leave her classroom
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 10, 2023 2:00 AM CST
Teacher Shot by 6-Year-Old Walked Students to Safety: Cops
Messages of support for teacher Abby Zwerner, who was shot by a 6-year-old student, grace the front door of Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Va. on Monday Jan. 9, 2023.   (AP Photo/John C. Clark)

The Virginia teacher allegedly shot by a 6-year-old while teaching class is being hailed as a hero for getting the rest of her students to safety. After Abigail Zwerner was shot—the bullet going through her hand, which she held up in a defensive posture when the gun was pointed at her, and then striking her upper chest—the 25-year-old first-grade teacher "made ... sure that every one of those students was safe," getting them out of the classroom, the Newport News police chief said at a press conference Monday. "I believe she did save lives because I don't know what else might have happened if those kids would have stayed in that room." Zwerner, he says, was the last person to leave the room.

Zwerner was teaching a lesson in her Richneck Elementary School classroom when she was shot Friday, and police say there had been no "physical struggle or fight" before the boy took out the gun and shot Zwerner in what police say was an intentional act, though it's not clear what motive he may have allegedly had. Police say he took the 9mm handgun to school in his backpack, and that it had been legally purchased by his mother, though it's not clear how it was secured or stored in the home, CBS News reports. Zwerner remains hospitalized and is reportedly in stable condition. The child is also at a medical facility and an emergency custody order has been obtained. (More Virginia stories.)

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