Unsealed Video Shows Aftermath of 6-Year-Old Shooting His Teacher in Virginia

A video that had been kept under seal has now been made public, showing what happened immediately after a 6-year-old student shot his teacher at an elementary school in the United States and then directed profanity at police who arrived at the scene. According to the New York Post, the child was a first-grade pupil at an elementary school in Newport News, Virginia, when he shot his teacher inside a classroom during the afternoon of January 6, 2023, local time. He removed a gun from a pocket in his jacket and fired one shot at the teacher from a distance of about 3 meters. The bullet went through the teacher's hand and became lodged in the teacher's chest. The teacher who was shot suffered serious injuries but made a notable recovery after undergoing several surgeries. Reports indicated that 16 students were in the classroom at the time. Recently released police body-camera footage shows officers responding to the scene and the boy shortly after the shooting. Footage presented at a recent trial shows the boy cursing at another teacher who was holding him and acting aggressively toward responding officers, saying, "You want to try me?" When the second teacher heard gunshots, she ran to the classroom and found the boy's teacher lying on the floor with a gunshot wound. She immediately seized the boy and held him so he could not move. When police arrived, a 9mm handgun was lying on the floor. When officers asked the boy how old he was, he answered, "Six." He also said something to the officers along the lines of, "If you want to fight me, come over here. I don’t care if you call for backup. I don’t care if I go to jail." The second teacher later testified in court that the boy had punched him in the face at the time, sending her glasses flying. It emerged that the gun the boy used to shoot his teacher that day had been stolen from his mother. According to court records, investigators found that the boy took the gun from his mother's bag on the morning of the incident, put it in his backpack, and brought it to school. The boy's mother was sentenced to prison for child neglect, including failing to prevent her son from accessing the gun. She was also punished in a federal case for falsely reporting information related to drug use when purchasing the firearm. The boy, who was a minor, was not legally punished at the time but was ordered to receive mental health treatment. He is reportedly now living under the care of his great-grandfather.