Many parents were already angry about the way Richneck officials handled the incident to shoot. Newport News Superintendent George Parker III said school officials received a tip that the boy had a gun that day and searched his backpack, but officers did not find the weapon before saying the 6-year-old shot Zwerner. Newport News Police Chief Steve Drew said his department was not contacted by a report that the boy had a weapon before he was shot.
Police and school officials have repeatedly refused to answer questions about the boy’s discipline or the troubling behavior the 6-year-old may have displayed and how school officials responded, citing the boy’s age and the ongoing law enforcement investigation. The boy’s family said in a statement that he has a “serious disability,” but James Ellenson, the family’s attorney, declined to comment on the boy’s behavior or the school’s response.
School district spokeswoman Michelle Price said in a phone interview late Friday that the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, a federal law that protects student privacy, prohibits her from releasing information about the 6-year-old.
He said: “I cannot explain anything about a child’s education.” “A lot of what you’re asking about is part of the child’s educational history, and it’s about the police investigating and investigating inside the school. Unfortunately, some of that stuff I don’t even know about.”
Footage of an online conversation between school staff and Parker shortly after the shooting shows the teacher saying that Zwerner raised the alarm about the 6-year-old and asked for help during the school year.
“He asked for help,” one employee wrote in the chat, referring to Zwerner.
“Several times,” came another message.
The messages, which were provided to The Post by the Richneck Elementary teacher’s wife, do not detail the help Zwerner requested, or to whom he requested it. Zwerner and his family did not return repeated messages from the Washington Post.
A message written by a Richneck teacher, and obtained by The Washington Post from the local teachers union, says that school administrators dismissed concerns about the six-year-old and that the school failed to properly care for him.
The Post obtained the information on condition that the coach not be identified because the agency fears retaliation. The teacher declined an interview through the union, the Newport News Education Association, citing concerns about technical implications and instructions from Newport News schools not to speak to the media about the shooting.
At one point, the boy wrote a piece of paper telling a teacher that he hated him and wanted to set him on fire to see him dead, according to the teacher. Alarmed, the teacher brought the document to Richneck officials and was told to drop the matter, according to the news release. The date of the incident was not specified.
The school’s principal and vice-principal did not respond to requests for comment about the teacher’s case.
During the second period, the boy threw chairs and other objects into the classroom, prompting students to hide under their desks, according to the report. Another time, a teacher In his story, the boy blocked the classroom doors and prevented the teacher and students from leaving.
The teacher knocked on the classroom door until a teacher on the other side of the hall obliged open the outside, according to the teacher’s story. It was not clear if the coach requested any action from the administration after the incident.
The teacher also described the situation in the school. The special education principal was upset because he had a serious problem, according to the story. Some agents miss work frequently, up to a week at a time.
The teacher also said in his report that the boy is not receiving the education he needs, that he finds it difficult to get help during riots and that he is sometimes seen wandering around the school without supervision.
The boy’s family said that On Thursday, the family’s first public comment about the shooting, the 6-year-old was “under a care plan” that “includes his mother or father going to school with him and accompanying him to class every day.” That put a stop to the shooting week, he said.
“We will regret not being there today for the rest of our lives,” he said.
The teacher’s story is related to the student’s description of the behavior of the Richneck teacher’s wife and mother whose son studies in the classroom across from Zwerner’s. The woman and the woman, who were not named to protect their families’ privacy, said the student was known to be disruptive and violent and that school staff struggled to supervise him in class.
The Post reached out to several other Richneck teaching staff, administrators and parents to try to confirm the teachers’ claims, but many did not respond or declined to ask questions, citing the police investigation or fear of retaliation.
Drew, the police chief, said investigators will look into what happened to the student before the incident, although he did not confirm what happened.
James Graves, president of the Newport News Education Association, said the association is investigating the safety measures teachers took after the shooting.
“We want to know what happened to protect our members,” Graves said. “They believe and know that the administration should be more careful than they are. This could have been avoided.”
Thomas Britton, whose son was taught by Zwerner, said school officials did not inform parents in the class about the problem with the boy who fired the gun.
He said officials mishandled the shooting, saying they should have removed the boy from the classroom until they could confirm if he had a gun, and conduct a thorough investigation.
“This was an amazing revelation that not only brought the weapon, but someone gave a tip that they had the weapon,” Britton said. “It seems to me that it could have been avoided at that time.”
Valerie McCandless, a 52-year-old Newport News resident who sent six children to Richneck, said her children have done well at the school, but she worries that the school’s administrators, some of whom she says are new, have failed. quick action.
“I don’t think the teachers there are getting help, they don’t feel compassion, they don’t get answers, they don’t listen to them,” he said, adding about the shooting, “this was, I believe. , the way God says a person should obey.”
The same was evident this week at a packed school meeting in Newport News, where many parents expressed frustration, anger and frustration with security at Richneck and other schools in the district. There have been three school shootings in Newport News since the end of 2021.
Several teachers reported that they did not receive help when they experienced violence in the classroom or were harassed by students. Some speakers said that the district wants the number of people to be lower than to take action to solve the problems of the students.
The parent of Zwerner’s classmate said her daughter was bullied by her classmates. He said he struggled to get the school to take his concerns seriously and that Richneck’s principal once failed to show up for a meeting about the abuse, even though other officials attended.
She said Zwerner protected her daughter.
“Listen to your teachers when they are worried,” the woman said raising her voice. “Please!”
Parker, the leader, he said in a meeting with Richneck students that the district is buying 90 metal detectors to install in all Newport News schools and getting clear bags to give to students. He has assigned a new superintendent to Richneck and said officials are taking teachers’ concerns into account.
“We listened and are continuing to work to improve systems and processes to help manage bad behavior that has a significant impact on the culture and climate in schools,” Parker wrote in a letter to staff this week.
Celeste Holliday, a substitute teacher who once taught Zwerner’s first grade class at Richneck Elementary School, said Zwerner had trouble keeping calm in a class of 25 to 30 children, but Holliday thought he was a diligent teacher.
“He was great. He did everything he could,” Holliday said of Zwerner. “They prepared me mentally. He told me, ‘They’re stupid 6-year-olds. It will be a difficult day. Do your best.’
Zwerner’s warning proved wise.
Holliday said the class was noisier than many of its predecessors. Holliday said that, on a day when he was working in Richneck, A boy kicked his friend during a break and the boy sprained his knee. The injured boy had to go to the nurse’s office for treatment.
Afterward, the principal came to the classroom and told the boys to calm down because they were yelling, Holliday said. The headmaster gave a report of what had happened. Holliday said that, after the incident, he decided he would never take a position at Richneck Elementary School again.
Drew said in his online chat that investigators have completed interviews with many students but are still seeking school disciplinary records and other materials related to the boy.
Once the investigation is complete, Drew said the findings will be forwarded to the Newport News commonwealth’s attorney to decide whether anyone should be charged. Legal experts say it’s unlikely the boy will be charged because children under the age of 7 are considered incapable of forming the intent to commit a crime under Virginia law. But Drew said it’s possible someone could be charged for failing to secure the gun used in the shooting.
Ellenson, who is the lawyer for the boy’s family, said during the inquiry that the gun was locked and was on the top shelf of the woman’s bedroom. Ellenson said it’s unclear how the boy got hold of the gun.
Newport News police declined to comment on the family’s claims that the weapon was safely stored.
The January 6 shooting happened as school was ending for the week. Police say the boy pulled out a gun while Zwerner was training and shot him.
Zwerner was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries; Drew said he continues to recover. Police say the boy brought the gun home in a bag.
The boy’s family said in their statement that he is in the hospital receiving treatment and expressed his grief over the shooting.
“We continue to pray for his teacher’s recovery, as well as their loved ones who are no doubt devastated and worried,” he said. At the same time, we love our son and ask you to include him and our family in your prayers.”
