Troubled 6-yr-old boy who shot teacher told another teacher he wanted to set her on fire, watch her die

A six-year-old Virginia first grader who earlier this month “intentionally” opened fire on and severely wounded his teacher, leaving her with “life-threatening injuries,” had a sordid history of bad behavior that was repeatedly ignored by his school.

As previously reported, during some sort of confrontation that occurred around 2:00 pm at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia on Jan. 6th, the boy allegedly shot his teacher, described by local authorities as a woman in her 30s.

He was arrested sometime after, Newport News Police Department chief Steve Drew announced during a press conference later that afternoon.

Reports that have since emerged about the boy’s prior acts of bad behavior raise serious questions about Richneck Elementary School’s handling of the situation.

“On one occasion, the boy wrote a note telling [another] teacher he hated her and wanted to light her on fire and watch her die, according to the teacher’s account,” The Washington Post reported Saturday.

“Alarmed, the teacher brought the note to the attention of Richneck administrators and was told to drop the matter, according to the account. The date of the incident was not mentioned,” the Post added.

During a second incident, “the boy threw furniture and other items in class, prompting students to hide beneath their desks, according to the account.”

“Another time, the [other] teacher alleges in her account, the boy barricaded the doors to a classroom, preventing a teacher and students from leaving,” according to the Popst.

“The teacher banged on the classroom door until another teacher from across the hall forced it open from the outside, according to the teacher’s account. It was not clear whether the teacher asked for any specific action from administrators after that incident,” the Post reported.

According to reports, the teacher who was shot, Abigail Zwerner, had herself also repeatedly raised concerns about the boy’s troubling behavior pattern.

“Screenshots of a conversation held online between school employees and Parker shortly after the shooting show educators claiming that Zwerner raised alarms about the 6-year-old and sought assistance during the school year,” according to the Post.

“[S]he had asked for help,” one staffer wrote.

“[S]everal times,” another added.

“A separate message written by a Richneck teacher, and obtained by The Washington Post from the local teachers union, alleges that school administrators waved away grave concerns about the 6-year-old’s conduct and that the school was overall unable to care for him properly,” the Post notes.

Dovetailing back to the shooting, authorities are calling it “intentional,” though many questions still remain unanswered. For instance, how did the boy get hold of a gun?

His parents have claimed that they do have a gun but that it’s “been stored with a trigger lock,” according to the Post.

“James Ellenson, the family’s attorney, said … that the gun was kept on a top shelf of the mother’s bedroom closet. Ellenson said the family is unsure how the boy managed to remove the trigger lock that keeps a firearm from firing. He said he was unsure of the precise mechanism of the lock,” the Post reported.

Regarding the gun, the police are still investigating and also reportedly exploring whether to charge his parents for failing to secure it.

Newport News police chief Steve Drew has said that the boy got the gun from home and “placed it in his backpack and brought it to school.” Drew added that the gun was legally purchased by the boy’s mother.

“Our heart goes out to our son’s teacher and we pray for her healing in the aftermath of such an unimaginable tragedy as she selflessly served our son and the children in the school,” the boy’s family said in a statement.

“She has worked diligently and compassionately to support our family as we sought the best education and learning environment for our son. We thank her for her courage, grace and sacrifice,” they added.

The family also claimed their son suffers from an “acute disability,” though they abstained from describing this alleged condition.

The boy is black, according to photos obtained by the New York Post. However, genuine racists like Bishop Talbert Swan automatically assumed he was white:

Vivek Saxena

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