China News Service, January 9 (Xinhua) According to the Associated Press, a school shooting incident occurred in Newport News, Virginia, a few days ago. A teacher was seriously injured after being shot by a six-year-old student.
Local mayor Philip Jones said the shooting sent a "dangerous signal" for the United States.
A six-year-old boy shot and wounded a female teacher with a pistol in a first-grade classroom on Saturday local time, authorities said.
The local police chief said the shooting was not an accident, but was caused by an altercation.
Jones declined to disclose details of the shooting or the source of the handgun involved.
"After this incident, we should have a national discussion about how to prevent such incidents," she said.
Experts who study gun violence say it is rare for a child to enter a school with a gun and injure a teacher.
Daniel Webster, a professor of gun violence at Johns Hopkins University, said studies have shown an increase in children accidentally shooting themselves or others with loaded firearms in the home or in other settings.
According to reports, Virginia law stipulates that six-year-olds are too young to be tried as adults and cannot be dealt with by the Juvenile Justice Department after being found guilty, but juvenile judges have the power to revoke the custody of the parents of the children involved and send Children are placed under the jurisdiction of social services.
It is reported that the injured teacher is still hospitalized and his condition has improved.
Newport News police declined to release details about what sparked the altercation or what happened in the classroom.