(Newport News) A 6-year-old student shot and injured a Virginia teacher Friday during a classroom altercation, police and city school officials told Newport News.
No students were injured in the shooting at Richneck Elementary School, police said. The 30-year-old teacher suffered life-threatening injuries. Newport News Police Chief Steve Drew told reporters his condition had improved somewhat by late afternoon.
Police said the child had a handgun in the classroom. The student was taken into custody after authorities arrived.
“We haven’t had to deal with a situation where someone fired into the school,” Drew told reporters. “We had a situation in a particular location where a shot was fired. »
He added that the shooting was not an accident.
Parents and students were gathered at the door of a gymnasium, Newport News Public Schools reported on Facebook.
Newport News is a town of about 185,000 in southeastern Virginia, known for its shipyard, which builds the nation’s aircraft carriers and other United States Navy vessels.
Richneck has about 550 students in kindergarten through fifth grade, according to the Virginia Department of Education website. School officials have already said there will be no classes at the school on Monday.