by Kerry Dougherty
We’re not in the business of making predictions in this space. But with the police releasing precious few details about the near-fatal shooting of a Newport News first-grade school teacher on Friday, BY A SIX-YEAR-OLD BOY, we have a few guesses about what we will learn eventually:
This is complete speculation, but chances that this first-grade boy is the product of a stable two-parent family are slim.
Chances are he has witnessed violence, either through video games or in person, that have sadly turned him into a menace to society.
Given the tender age of the alleged perpetrator, cops are being stingy with details. Understandable. Yet the entire student body of 550 at Richneck Elementary School was terrified Friday afternoon when shots rang out. They, and the rest of the community, deserve some answers.
For instance: Where is the boy now?
Six-year-olds reportedly cannot be charged with crimes in Virginia, but they can be removed from their homes by authorities. Hopefully that happened immediately.
The question remains: What sort of home produces a 6-year-old child capable of taking a loaded gun to school and shooting his teacher?
At the very least his parent/parents/guardian should be charged with child endangerment for giving him access to a loaded firearm. And let’s hope prosecutors spent every waking minute since the shooting exploring ways to charge the adults with attempted murder and a host of gun charges. Continue reading
