US: Virginia teacher shot by her six-year-old student tried to confiscate gun, say reports

The Virginia elementary school teacher who was shot by her six-year-old student was trying to confiscate the weapon from the child, the parent of another child revealed.

Brittaney Gregory, whose son also studies in the same class explained the scenarios told by her son. Shetold Washington Postthat Abby Zwerner, the teacher was reading and was about to leave the art class when the boy pulled out the gun from his bag, which she was going to confiscate and that's when he shot.

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She described Abby as a 'sweet' and 'very attentive' teacher. The 25-year-old Abby was shot in the abdomen through her hand and suffered many life-threatening injuries but is continuing to improve in the hospital.

According to the police's statement, the incident was 'not an accident.' It added that they were notified about the incident around 2 pm.The child has been taken into custody. According to the police, the gun was legally purchased by the child's mother, CBS news reported.

Police chief Drew told reporters, "We did not have a situation where someone was going around the school shooting. We have a situation in one particular location where a gunshot was fired."

Other remaining students were taken to the school's gymnasium to keep them 'safe.' Drew added that several counsellors tried to calm the students.

This incident might stoke debate about restricting 'gun access' in the US.

Similarly, many high-profile gun instances include the killing of 10 at a grocery store in Buffalo, and 21 at a school in Uvalde in Texas by an 18-year-old, which happened last year.

According to reports, some 44,000 gun-related deaths were reported in the US, AFP reported.

(with inputs from agencies)

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