A student at the Virginia school where 6-year-old shot teacher threatened to shoot up a classroom
Three weeks after the Virginia school where a 6-year-old shot his teacher reopened, a fifth-grade student made threats to "pop some bullets," a school spokesperson said Tuesday.
In a letter to families and the Richneck Elementary School community in Newport News, Virginia, an administrator said a fifth-grader in a group text conversation with other students over the weekend said they would "pop some bullets" and tell someone to shoot up a class.
"I immediately contacted the student’s parent and excluded the student from school," Karen Lynch, an administrator on special assignment to lead Richneck, said in the message.
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The letter, shared with USA TODAY by district spokesperson Michelle Price, comes after a first-grader shot and severely injured his teacher, Abigail Zwerner, on Jan. 6.
Zwerner's attorney declined to comment on the fifth-grader who made threats. Attorneys for Zwerner, whose injuries were considered life-threatening but who has since left the hospital and is recovering, said they intend to file a lawsuit on her behalf against Newport News Public Schools.
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The attorneys alleged that school administrators were warned repeatedly the day of the shooting that the child may have had a gun on him.
The gun was legally purchased by the boy's mother, police said. An attorney for the child's family said the gun was stored with a trigger lock on the top shelf of a closet and the family does not know how he got it. No charges have been filed in the case.
One of the fifth graders involved in the group text message over the weekend told their parent about the threat and the parent contacted the school, Lynch said in the letter. Lynch said police were investigating and a threat assessment was in progress.
"Threats and safety concerns are always taken very seriously. Please rest assured that all protocols are being followed and this incident is being addressed accordingly," Lynch said.
Last week, police in a different Virginia city said another 6-year-old brought a gun to class. Police in Norfolk said a mother was charged with allowing access to a firearm to a minor and contributing to delinquency by a minor. The child brought a handgun to Little Creek Elementary School, and no injuries were reported, police said in a press release.
Contributing: Tami Abdollah
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 5th grader at Virginia school where 6-year-old shot teacher makes threats
