On Friday, January 6th 2023, US authorities reported an alarming incident where a six-year-old child shot and wounded a teacher at an elementary school in Newport News, Virginia.
Police Chief Steve Drew revealed to the press that, while there had been some progress in her condition since arriving at hospital, the teacher in her 30s faced a life-threatening injury.
As the police classified the altercation in question as a “brawl” which ended with one gunshot, there remained an unanswered query regarding wherefrom the six-year-old had attained that gun. Drew further stressed his demand for transparency: “This was not an accidental gunfire,” he stated conclusively. “I want to know where that firearm came from.”
He also confirmed that the child was detained, while none of the other children were injured in the incident.
At the press conference, George Parker, headmaster of the school, expressed his shock and disappointment that teachers could not keep guns out of schools. “It is imperative to ensure firearms do not reach our youth,” he asserted. “Unfortunately, there isn’t much I or any teacher can do in this regard.”
Person who shot and injured a teacher at Virginia elementary school turned out to be a 6-year-old boy. pic.twitter.com/UoAbLulP1E
— Daily Loud (@DailyLoud) January 7, 2023
Despite all schools being equipped with metal detectors, Parker reported that none were enabled at Rechnik Primary School.
Frequent violent incidents in America
A recent report from Fox News, titled “So Far…33 Mass Shootings in May 2022”, exposed the alarming number of mass shootings that have occurred in America. Disturbingly enough, these violent incidents are regularly documented by Gun Violence Archives and other divisions within the US Department of Homeland Security such as the FBI.
The first of these numbers is that the first half of the current month of May (from May 1 to May 15) witnessed 33 mass shootings, and despite that, the number is not considered a record in that period, but rather it was low compared to the same period last year 2021, which witnessed 37 mass shootings occurred. As for the year 2017, America witnessed 10 mass shootings, compared to 20 incidents in 2018, 19 incidents in 2019, and the same number in 2020. All of these incidents took place only during the first half of May.
The issue of owning firearms in the United States is one of the most prominent files that represent a sharp division within the country. The huge movement that defends this right is mostly republican in terms of political affiliation, and found in former President Donald Trump a representative worthy of rallying behind him and supporting him when he announced his candidacy for the presidency in 2015. .
In response to much criticism, the US Senate in June approved a bill aimed at addressing the wave of gun violence in the US, including restrictions on access to firearms and billions of dollars in funding for mental health and security in schools.
