Fallout widens over student’s shooting of teacher in Virginia

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — The fallout from the shooting of a teacher by a 6-year-old student in Virginia has prompted a staff shakeup in the Newport News school district.

In addition to the firing of Superintendent Gary Parker last week, the principal and assistant principal of Richneck Elementary School have left their jobs. A longtime principal in the school district has been named to lead the school as it prepares to reopen this week.

The shooting by a firstgrade boy on Jan. 6 stunned Newport News and has reverberated around the country, raising questions about school security and how a child so young gained access to a gun and was able to fire it at his teacher.

Diane Toscano, a lawyer for the wounded teacher, Abby Zwerner, said that on the day of the shooting, concerned staff at Richneck warned administrators three times that the boy had a gun and was threatening other students, but the administration didn’t call police, remove the boy from class or lock down the school.

Parker, who was fired by the school board, has said that at least one administrator at the school received a tip that the boy may have brought a weapon to school. Parker said the boy’s backpack was searched, but no weapon was found.

The fallout over the shooting is ongoing. Principal Briana Foster Newton is no longer listed as the principal on the school’s website. Michelle Price, a spokesperson for the school district, said Newton is still employed by the district, but she did not say what position Newton now holds. Assistant Principal Ebony Parker has resigned from the school division, Price said.

Karen Lynch, who has worked as a principal in Newport News for 17 years, is now listed as the school’s administrator. In a letter to Richneck families this week, Lynch said she was working “on special assignment” at Richneck.