NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — The issue of violence against teachers in the classroom took center stage when Newport News police said a 6-year-old shot his teacher in January.
The story horrified people around the world.
Police say the little boy got his hands on a gun, brought it to school and opened fire on his teacher.
The shooting happened Jan. 6, at Richneck Elementary School, where police said the student shot 25-year-old Abigail Zwerner in her classroom.
First responders say they found Zwerner in the school office with gunshot wounds in her left hand and upper torso.
According to the search warrant, a reading specialist at the school, heard from two students on the day of the shooting that the 6-year-old had a gun in his book bag.
It states two adults searched the backpack, but didn’t find a gun.
The warrant also said Kovac and a school administrator searched the student's backpack when the class when to recess, but they did not find a gun.
Richneck Shooting
TIMELINE: Everything we know about the shooting at Richneck and the aftermath
The reading specialist told investigators that after the class got back from recess, she heard a gunshot come from the classroom, and several children ran out, according to the warrant. She also saw Zwerner run from the classroom, bleeding from the hand and upper torso. From there, she was taken to the hospital.
The reading specialist held the 6-year-old in place until police got to the scene, according to the details of the warrant. It was during that time that the 6-year-old allegedly made several statements to Kovac, including, “'I shot that b**** dead,’ ‘I did it’ and ‘I got my mom’s gun last night.’"
The child’s mom recently plead guilty to child neglect.
The story sparked conversation about violence in the classroom.
President of the Newport News Education Association Dr. James Graves said, “I know when the shooting happened, teachers said that they were being assaulted and they didn’t think anything was being done.”
Dr. Graves has been working to bring concerns from teachers to the forefront.
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“As the Union President, it’s my job to make sure that the school board and the administration knows what’s going on, make sure they’re held accountable,” said Dr. Graves.
Through our investigation, WTKR has talked to several teachers who did not want to be interviewed for fear of getting into trouble by school administration, but complained about violence in the classrooms, inappropriate behavior and lack of respect. Every school is different and some experience more problems compared to others.
“Disrespectful doesn’t even begin to describe it,” said one retired teacher, who asked not to have his identity revealed for fear of retaliation from the district he used to work for.
He said from his experience teachers are discouraged from filing charges against students when assaulted. He said problems are under reported because administrators fear reported issues make their schools look bad.
The retired teacher said he worked for 25 years and said problematic behavior from the kids in middle school intensified over the years.
He said there are issued with guns, drugs, and gangs at a younger age than ever before.
He said the children curse at teachers and staff and call them ugly, fat and constantly have fights in school.
He said he took out charges against a student that assaulted him while on the job.
One study done by Education Week Research Center, a group that focuses on issues in schools found that 10% of educators said they have been physically assaulted or attacked by a student.
The Department of Education collects data from schools that show the number of times a teacher was struck without injury and threatened.
We requested the latest numbers and waiting to get them from the various schools along with the Department of Education.
Last year the Former Virginia Beach Superintendent Aaron Spence met with the media and reported an increase in disruptive behavior, an increase verbal threats, and said they had more cases of extreme behavior in younger students.
“Kids need to understand this, when you assault a teacher, there is some serious consequences behind that and they need to understand that’s not how our school system is ran,” said Dr. Graves.
He said this year to improve safety in Newport News students will be required to use clear bookbags, they’ve installed new metal detectors and added more than 30 security officers.
He said teachers have the right to stand their ground and be respected by kids in the classroom.
