Stories tagged: "gun violence"


Paranoia and Guns Mix Together in New Wave of Shootings

Knocking on a door, turning your car around in a driveway, or chasing a ball into your neighbor’s yard can get you shot now, apparently. 

FILE - Students and police gather outside of Richneck Elementary School after a shooting, Jan. 6, 2023 in Newport News, Va. A Virginia teacher who was shot and seriously wounded by her 6-year-old student filed a lawsuit Monday, April 3, 2023, seeking $40 million in damages from school officials, accusing them of gross negligence and of ignoring multiple warnings the day of the shooting that the boy was armed and in a “violent mood.” (Billy Schuerman/The Virginian-Pilot via AP, File)
Mother of 6-year-old Who Shot Teacher Indicted by Grand Jury

A grand jury in Virginia has indicted the mother of a 6-year-old boy who shot his teacher on charges of child neglect and failing to secure her handgun in the family's home, a prosecutor said Monday.

FILE - Messages of support for teacher Abby Zwerner, who was shot by a 6-year-old student, grace the front door of Richneck Elementary School Newport News, Va. on Jan. 9, 2023.  Zwerner said Monday, March 20, that she has had four surgeries and has gone through a challenging recovery. (AP Photo/John C. Clark, File)
Teacher shot by 6-year-old student files $40 million lawsuit

A first-grade Virginia teacher who was shot and seriously wounded by her 6-year-old student filed a lawsuit Monday seeking $40 million in damages from school officials, accusing them of gross negligence for allegedly ignoring multiple warnings on the day of the shooting that the boy had a gun and was in a “violent mood.”

A makeshift memorial is seen at the entry to Covenant School with a police car guarding, on Tuesday, March 28, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. The former student who shot through the doors of the Christian elementary school and killed three children and three adults had drawn a detailed map of the school.  (AP Photo/John Amis)
How to Talk to Your Kids About Tennessee’s Tragic School Shooting

In the wake of the tragic Nashville shooting, families across the commonwealth are figuring out how to best talk about this horrific event with their children. Feelings of grief, anger, hopelessness, and sadness can overpower and overwhelm even the strongest person, because we are all human. Sometimes, it’s hard to talk about those overwhelming emotions, especially in the wake of another senseless act of gun violence.

UPDATE: Here’s Where Gun Safety Legislation in Virginia Stands

Democrats in the Virginia Senate passed several gun safety bills, while Republicans in the House of Delegates passed their own set of bills aimed at making it easier to obtain and carry firearms.

Virginia Senate Dems Advance New Gun Safety Bills in Wake of UVA and Newport News Shootings

Earlier this week, a panel from the Democratic-led Virginia Senate voted to advance legislation related to gun safety, ranging from a bill that would require adults to keep guns safely locked up and away from any children in the household to restrictions on the sale of assault-style weapons, as well as one that would specify in Virginia state law that firearms are banned at public higher education institutions. 

Lawyer Diane Toscano, who represents Abigail Zwerner, the Newport News teacher who was shot by a six-year-old student, reads a statement to media on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023, in Newport News, Va. (Mike Caudill/The Virginian-Pilot via AP)
Lawyer: Warnings boy had gun ignored before he shot teacher

Concerned staff warned administrators at a Virginia elementary school three times that a 6-year-old boy had a gun and was threatening other students in the hours before he shot and wounded a teacher, but the administration "was paralyzed by apathy" and didn't call police, remove the boy from class or lock down the school, the wounded teacher's lawyer said Wednesday.