6-Year-Old Wanted To Light Teacher On Fire, 'Watch Her Die' Before VA Shooting: Report

NEWPORT NEWS, VA — Administrators at Newport News schools repeatedly ignored a teacher's requests for help and, despite her warnings, downplayed the behavior of the 6-year-old student accused of shooting her, according to a Washington Post report.

Messages from teachers obtained by the Post detail other disturbing incidents involving the first-grade student who police say intentionally shot 25-year-old Abigail Zwerner, a teacher at Richneck Elementary School.

According to police, the boy took his mother's 9mm handgun to school, pulled it from his backpack and used it to shoot Zwerner.

Police said the shooting was intentional, but investigators are still determining a motive.

Messages obtained by the Post detail an incident prior to the shooting where the 6-year-old boy wrote a note, telling a teacher he hated her and wanted to light her on fire and watch her die. The teacher said the note was given to administrators, but they were told to drop the matter.

Other times, the boy reportedly threw furniture and other items in class, the Post reported. Another time, the boy barricaded the doors to a classroom to prevent a teacher and students from leaving.

According to the messages, Zwerner alerted school officials about the boy's behavior and repeatedly sought assistance during the school year.

In a statement released by their attorney, the boy's family also said their son suffers from an acute disability and was under a care plan at the school that included his mother or father attending school with him and accompanying him to class every day.

According to the family, the week of the shooting was the first that a parent was not in class with him.

"We will regret our absence on this day for the rest of our lives," the family said.

Zwerner was shot in the chest with injuries initially considered to be life-threatening. She has since been released from the hospital, a Riverside Regional Medical Center spokesperson told WTKR.

Newport News Superintendent of Schools George Parker told parents during a meeting last week that a school official was notified about the weapon before the shooting. However, no gun was found when the child's backpack was searched.

The family's attorney told the Post this week that the gun used in the shooting was kept on the top shelf of a closet and had a trigger lock. He also said the family doesn't know how the boy managed to remove the trigger lock that kept the gun from firing.

Since the shooting, teachers and parents have publicly lambasted school authorities, accusing them of not doing enough to protect children and staff.

During a three-hour school Newport News school board meeting dedicated solely to public comment, teachers and parents said students who assaulted classmates and staff were routinely allowed to stay in the classroom with few consequences.

They also said Zwerner's shooting could have been prevented if not for a toxic environment in which concerns are systemically ignored.

"Every day in every one of our schools, teachers, students and other staff members are being hurt," high school librarian Nicole Cooke told the board. "Every day, they’re hit. They’re bitten. They’re beaten. And they’re allowed to stay so that our numbers look good."

READ MORE:

• Gun Used To Shoot VA Teacher Locked, Stored On Top Shelf: Attorney
  
• Angry Parents, Teachers Say Schools Failed To Protect Staff, Kids
• Boy's Backpack Searched Before Newport News School Shooting: Report
• Newport News Shooting: Can 6-Year-Old's Mother Be Charged?
• 6-Year-Old Used Mom's Gun To Shoot Teacher: VA Police Chief
• Newport News School Shooting: 6-Year-Old Shoots Teacher In Classroom