Virginia
Virginia school ignored 'many behavioral problems,' violence of 6-year-old who shot teacher
A 6-year-old old student who shot his first grade teacher at Richneck Elementary School in Virginia last year exhibited signs of violence prior to the shooting and should not have been enrolled in school, according to a special grand jury report released Wednesday.
Behavioral Problems:
The child “exhibited many behavioral problems” prior to the Jan. 6, 2023 incident where he shot his teacher, Abby Zwerner, with a 9 mm semi-automatic pistol. The child was also reportedly disruptive during his kindergarten year to both fellow students and teacher Susan White, who was named in the grand jury report.
“Over the course of the kindergarten year the child exhibited many behavioral problems,” the special grand jury report stated. “He was disruptive in class and to his teacher, Susan White. The child would ‘get in other kids faces’ and when removed from class by a counselor would occasionally hit or punch the counselor.”
“In one incident, the child kicked and spit on the teacher assistant” the report said.
VIRGINIA SCHOOL ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL FACES CHARGES AFTER 6-YEAR-OLD SHOT TEACHER
The special grand jury detailed a disturbing incident when the student choked his kindergarten teacher in Sept. 2021.
“On September 27, 2021, Ms. White was concluding breakfast with the students when the child went to dump his breakfast in the hallway trash can and never returned. Ms. White went to search for him and found him with the security guard. When Ms. White tried to take his hand and bring him back to class the child hit Ms. White and yelled, “No! I don’t want to go back to class.” The child then aggressively twisted and pulled down on the security guard’s wrist. Due to his behavior, the security guard took the child to [assistant principal- Dr. Parker, while Ms. White returned to class,” the report said.
“At some point, Ms. White was sitting in a kids chair teaching the class. The child went up behind Ms. White placed his forearms in front of her neck and pulled down so hard she couldn’t breathe, choking her. The teacher’s assistant saw Ms. White being choked by the child and rescued her by pulling the child’s arms off and removing him from the class.”
Despite the child’s behavior, the student was returned to class and allowed to stay after school administration said there was “no administrator available to deal with the situation.”
Despite instances of physical aggression and profanity, the child was not given an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or considered for an alternative school placement, the report said.
The grand jury also recommended further investigation into how the school handled two files on the student, both of which were missing when officials executed a search warrant.
LAWYERS FOR VIRGINIA TEACHER SHOT BY 6-YEAR-OLD FILE $40M SUIT DETAILING HOW SCHOOL ALLEGEDLY IGNORED WARNINGS
One file was returned by an administrator, but the file lacked the child’s disciplinary records, the report said. The other was never found.
Security Issues:
The report details security issues that were allegedly “not addressed or were dismissed.”
Richneck Elementary School did not have a “consistent, full time” school resource officer (SRO) at the time of the shooting, the report said.
Along with not having a SRO, the school had a faulty front door system that was “broken for weeks” prior to the Jan. 6, 2023 shooting.
The school also did not practice school lockdown drills, despite it being federally mandated.
The report also said classrooms did not have a clear pathway for drills since the classrooms did not have “doors or permanent walls (the walls were made of partitions).”
Lack of Response:
The report provides further details about the events leading up to the shooting and during it.
Moments prior to the shooting, the boy “immediately started showing signs of aggression” at lunch and was escorted by Zwerner from the room.
Zwerner went to the school’s assistant principal, Ebony Parker, and shared that the student was in a violent mood.
“Dr. Parker did not respond. Dr. Parker did not look away from her computer screen. Dr. Parker did not acknowledge Ms. Zwerner’s presence,” the report said.
VIRGINIA TEACHER SHOT BY 6-YEAR-OLD STUDENT IN CLASSROOM SAYS SHE’LL ‘NEVER FORGET THE LOOK ON HIS FACE’
According to the report, Parker only took action after Zwerner had left her office. The assistant principal told her assistant to call the boy’s mother to pick him up early.
According to the grand jury report, Parker was made aware on four occasions on the day of the shooting that the child might be a “potentially dangerous threat”:
At noon, a Richneck reading specialist told Parker that two students told her the child had a gun in his backpack, yet it was not checked.
VIRGINIA TEACHER EMAILS REVEAL ‘BEHAVIORAL DIFFICULTIES’ WITH 6-YEAR-OLD WHO SHOT HER: REPORT
At 12:30 p.m., the reading specialist told Parker that while she did search the backpack, she did not find a weapon,. Zwerner said that the child might have put something in his pockets.
A music teacher warned Parker that another first-grade teacher mentioned a gun.
And at 1:40 p.m., a guidance counselor told Parker the child might have a firearm or ammunition and, when he asked whether he could search him, Parker “refused and took no action.”
The report noted that the child was at recess – with 30 other children – with a firearm “tucked in his jacket.”
At 1:58 p.m., Zwerner watched the child turn his body towards her and hold a firearm.
“He pointed directly at Ms. Zwerner, and, at less than six feet away, pulled the trigger and shot Ms. Zwerner,” the report said.
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The gun the boy fired at Zwerner jammed after he fired the first round, according to the report.
There were seven more bullets in the magazine — and 15 other 2nd grade students in the classroom.
“The firearm had jammed due to his lack of strength on the first shot, inhibiting him from shooting Ms. (Abigail) Zwerner or anyone else again,” the report said. “The firearm had a full magazine with seven additional bullets ready to fire if not for the jamming.”
Virginia
Record blue catfish caught on Ohio River in West Virginia
CHARLESTON, W. Va. (KDKA) — A woman caught a blue catfish that was more than 4 feet long and weighed over 64 pounds, breaking West Virginia’s state length record.
Kimberly Feltner of Madison, Indiana, reeled in the massive catch on the Ohio River last month, the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources said. She caught it at the R.C. Byrd Pool using cut mooneye bait.
Coming in at 50.82, the catch surpassed the previous record length of 50.7 inches, set in 2022. It didn’t beat the weight record though. Feltner’s blue catfish weighed 64.15 pounds, falling short of the 69.45 pound record.
“With record-breaking catch after record-breaking catch, it’s no surprise that West Virginia’s world-class fishing continues to attract anglers from all over,” Gov. Jim Justice said in a news release. “I want to congratulate Kimberly Feltner on this amazing catch. It’s yet another example of why folks love coming to West Virginia to fish.”
West Virginia has reported nine record-breaking catches so far this year. In one case, an angler broke the black crappie length record but it was short-lived because his fishing buddy quickly caught an even bigger one the same day.
“Anglers have broken West Virginia’s blue catfish record multiple times over the last few years, which is a testament to the successful management efforts we’ve implemented,” WVDNR director Brett McMillion said in a press release. “We’re excited to see what other records might be broken as resident and non-resident anglers continue to hear about our waters consistently producing trophy fish.”
Virginia
Animals rescued from Helene come to Virginia – The River 95.3
While first responders are working to save lives in the recovery from Helene additional teams are working to rescue animals from the Carolinas.
Nearly 100 animals were delivered to Homeward Trails in Delaplaine and Fairfax station October 1 according to Northern Virginia Magazine.
The coordinated rescue effort involves teams in the Carolinas preparing the pets for transport to Richmond and volunteer drivers ready to take them to Northern Virginia.
The challenge lies in logistics in an area with no cell service or internet with flooded roads and the needs of local shelters according to WTOP.
Shelters were already taxed to the limit that coupled with a natural disaster creates and even harder problem.
Volunteers and more importantly foster homes are needed to help with these animals along with supplies.
If you can help at all contact Homeward Trails to support them in anyway you can.
For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here.
Virginia
Northern Virginia's most dangerous streets revealed: new study
ARLINGTON, Va. – A new report is highlighting some of Northern Virginia’s most dangerous streets in an effort to raise awareness about traffic safety for both pedestrians and drivers.
One of the streets identified in the report is Wilson Blvd, where pedestrians often face “close calls.” Earlier in the day, residents of other areas listed in the survey shared their thoughts on the situation.
“I play chicken here,” said Parker Canada, who lives in Ballston. “You have to lean out and walk to make sure no car is coming.”
Another Arlington resident added, “I’m kind of looking at the driver, trying to make eye contact to make sure they see me.”
Pedestrians in the Virginia Square neighborhood also expressed concerns, saying they use extra caution when crossing the street. North Quincy Street was identified as one of Arlington’s most dangerous areas for “near misses” involving pedestrians, according to a survey by Northern Virginia Families for Safe Streets.
“We’re trying to capture real-time information about where danger still exists,” said Mike Doyle, founder of Northern Virginia Families for Safe Streets. “We take this information to the transportation and street design people, the police, and use it in our advocacy with politicians.”
The survey collected data from Arlington, Alexandria, and Fairfax between January 2023 and June 2024. It found that the top three locations for near-miss crashes involving speeding or failure to yield were Beulah Street in Fairfax, Wilson Blvd in Arlington, and Mt. Vernon in Alexandria.
Other areas like Columbia Pike and Duke Street didn’t make the list due to challenges in getting underserved communities to participate in the survey, which Doyle says is crucial for preventing crashes. He pointed out that Richmond Hwy South is a known “crash zone.”
Last week, FOX 5 covered a fatal hit-and-run on Richmond Highway near Woodlawn Trail, which left one man dead. While local transportation departments are working to improve traffic safety by reducing speed limits, Doyle emphasized that a community-wide effort is needed.
“Slow it down, be a little courteous, and we can save lives,” Doyle said.
Canada agreed, urging drivers to be more attentive. “Stay off the phone, look out for pedestrians, especially at night,” he said.
Northern Virginia Families for Safe Streets divided the summary report into three regions:
Check out the Near Miss and Dangerous Locations Dashboard here.
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