The family of the 6-year-old boy who shot his teacher released their first public statement claiming that he suffers from an “acute disability.”
The boy was a student at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia, when he shot 25-year-old Abby Zwerner, his first grade teacher, on Jan. 6. She was immediately hospitalized and treated for a gunshot to the chest.
On Thursday, the family released a statement through the office of attorney James S. Ellenson.
“Our family has always been committed to responsible gun ownership and keeping firearms out of the reach of children,” read the statement. “The firearm our son accessed was secured.”
The 9mm handgun used in the shooting was registered to the boy’s mother, who may face charges according to law enforcement.
The family went on to say that the boy had 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.”
They also said that neither the mother nor father accompanied their son that week to school.
“We will regret our absence on this day for the rest of our lives,” they added.
Ellenson told the Associated Press that the family would sit in on classes with the child “on occasion,” but that the school and the parents made a “joint decision” that the situation “was no longer necessary.”
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