Parents Express Frustration at School Board After 6-Year-Old Student Shoots Teacher

Parents attended the first public school meeting since the teacher-shooting incident involving a 6-year-old boy, and anger and frustration were on full display.

Parents, teachers, and community members did not restrain themselves as frustrations were made known at the Newport News School District board meeting Tuesday in Virginia. This is the first gathering of parents and the school administration to discuss the 6-year-old student's intentional shooting of his teacher inside their classroom last January 6 at Richneck Elementary School.

Desiree, a parent of a student of Abby Zwerner, the 25-year-old teacher who was shot through the hand and into the stomach, described the teacher as an "advocate" for her 6-year-old daughter, who was said to be bullied in school. The mother expressed how her daughter was terrified, watching in horror how her classmate shot the person protecting her, ABC News reported.

Desiree is one of the many parents and students who revealed in the board meeting that before the shooting, complaints about safety, bullying, and security were allegedly expressed to school and country leaders but disappointingly fell on deaf ears.

"This should have been isolated beforehand to prevent Ms. Zwerner from getting hurt, because she was defending and protecting your children. You guys should have been defending her - protecting her when whoever came in [and] said that there was a possible weapon in that child's backpack," Desiree declared while sobbing at the podium.

Parents blamed school officials

In an interview with 13 News Now, she said that the school administration should listen to their teachers and staff, who are showing up daily in school, asking for support with their work and how they can help their students better.

During the almost three-hour meeting, parents also vented their frustration about the lack of critical communication of the school leaders after the shooting.

Kasey Sypolt, another parent and a special education teacher in another school district told Newport News Superintendent Dr. George Parker that she did not hear from Richneck until she got to the school. She further emphasized that the horrible incident did not happen because Zwerner was not doing her best to support her students. Instead, it happened because despite a report about the presence of a weapon and a report about behavior concerns, the school administration "did not take them seriously."

Authorities had reported that the 6-year-old's backpack was searched before the shooting after a fellow student said there was a gun. No gun was found during the search.

'Rescue phase'

The school board did not give a timeline when Richneck Elementary will re-open and return to class.

In the meantime, it is in the "rescue phase," ensuring the school's safety.

The board also informed parents that it had contacted the school officials of Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, where a shooting incident happened last May and killed 19 students and two teachers, to seek advice. It is also figuring out the next steps for the students at Richneck Elementary School with the help of the Department of Education.

The Newport News school district also ensured Richneck's parents that there would be new safety measures. A full-time security guard, a fully staffed front office, and access to a security wand will all be present. Metal detectors were already placed on the campus last week.