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
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.
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.
Abby Zwerner
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.”
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.
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”
Original article: https://www.amren.com/news/2023/03/prosecutor-wont-charge-6-year-old-accused-of-shooting-teacher/