>

Sorry, but this kid is a loss case. Throw him away in prison for the rest of his life and throw the key away. There is no rehabilitating this person ever.
goddamn,  sounds absolutely premeditated.  
"Two days before the shooting, the boy allegedly “slammed” Zwerner’s cellphone and broke it, according to the claim notice. He was given a one-day suspension, but when he returned to Zwerner’s class the following day, he pulled a 9mm handgun out of his pocket and shot her while she sat at a reading table, the notice says." >

Well, yeah, he brought a gun. 
I wonder if there were any risk assessments done for concerning behaviour? 
That’s what would happen in a Canadian school. >

So here's what we learned from other articles:
- another student warned the front office about it because he had shown bullets to other students before he shot her
-the teacher warned the office about issues after the phone was taken, the front office said "it's end of day so nothing we can do"
-the parents claimed the child was in a program and was supposed to be in the class with him, but wasn't that day. 
-parents claim the gun was locked up...(qustionable). 
So basically there was a lot that wasn't done, but there was a lot of warning. >

That part about the front office doing nothing checks out. In my brief time working at public schools several kids engaged in violently disruptive behavior and the general response was - handle it yourself. >

That must be a US-specific thing.
I know Canadian parents may claim the front office does nothing, but provided everyone does their job, this is not a thing. >

The front office staff knew me better than anyone in my high school. My home life wasn’t awesome (but I was self sufficient from like 15) and they didn’t really ask a lot of questions, but sometimes would hand me a bus pass, bag of groceries, a yearbook in grade 12 (only year I got one), stuff like that. Never made a big deal of it, trusted me when I said I was fine, just kind of knew what I needed. I ended up dating one of their sons for 7 years lol. They notice what’s going on, even when it isn’t necessarily behaviour! >

Those are the relationships that are so important for kids, especially vulnerable ones.
I hope you’re able to pay that forward or somehow educate people on the importance of that sort of kindness. >

Im actually a social worker; I worked for several years with youth transitioning out of the child welfare system, helping them get established, build life skills, go to post-secondary, upgrading, or getting on disability, etc. Unfortunately I burned out after a few serious incidents too many and have transitioned to a cushier office job, but in general I think I’ll always be in a position of supporting people who don’t always feel heard (I work in medical complaint resolution now).
ETA TL;DR - I try to pay it forward, didn’t mean to ramble >

Oh thank you for your answer; not rambling at all. You obviously put yourself out there. Thank you.
I don’t know how people don’t burn out in that job, and wonder how people manage. Do you think there should be “tours of duty” or something to rotate people in and out of the field? >

I definitely think it’s a job that should have an expiry date or some kind of rotation. I did child welfare investigations, intakes, guardianship, mostly high risk youth/young adults. All of it is hard in different ways, and the lifers are….challenging to be around. >

“The teacher requested anonymity because she fears potential retaliation from the school district”
Seriously? SERIOUSLY?!?!? >

Teachers are routinely discouraged from pressing charges when assaulted by students, and subject to retaliation if they ever stand up for themselves. 
Many districts also have very strict policies regarding district employees speaking to the press, and if they don't get fired immediately, they'll definitely be gone as soon as possible (probably the next school year). >

At my high school my former foods teacher was fired bc she slapped a student. The school board didn’t care that she was a 4 foot 10 inch, 140 lbs woman and the student was 6 feet tall, backing her bodily up against a table, forcing her to bend over backwards as he got more and more in her face while looming over her and boxed her in. She slapped him out of fear, but got fired. Even with video of the whole thing, including how the student was a pos leading up to it. Ridiculous. >

It's one thing you aren't told when you go into teaching: If the students attack you, you are not allowed to do shit about it. >

Screw that. The school district hasn’t got power over the state’s self defense laws. You might get fired but you kill the little shit if the try to kill you. >

Getting fired - especially with little chance of being re-hired in the same industry (what would happen if you are a teacher) - is a consequence that harbors death for many people. For some it might even exceed death, as their own life is not as big of a priority as being able to support their family with their income, and things like life insurance and… I guess memorial funds or suing for fat damages or goFundme… exist in the case of sudden death.
Basically - in the U.S. there is not much safety net. If you have a special needs child dependent on your health insurance, which is inextricably tied to your job, for example - you’d be surprised how quick youd be able to shrug off “well… he did shoot me - but on the other hand, it’s not like I died” >

Conduct disorder? Where tf are the parents? Why are we not hearing about them? >

They should be in jail. >

For life. The child likely learned violent abusive behavior at home >

I have a child with ODD (oppositional defiant disorder).  We tried everything the army of therapists told us to do and he's barely functional now. 
I have another child who is making straight A's and is very well behaved.
It's not always the parents. >

Can I ask a few questions? Like, how do you function? It must be so very tiring, not only dealing with a defiant kid but the judgement of other parents. 
Do you regret having the kid? 
I'm honestly curious. Feel free to ignore me completely! >

It's exhausting, no lie, but you eventually learn the strategies that manage it and they become habits. I love him and don't regret him, ever.  
With ODD it's all about managing the triggering incidents. It's as simple as framing 'orders' as 'questions'. They have issues with authority.
Triggering: 'Go clean your room' or even 'Please, go clean your room.'
Reframe: 'You may choose to clean your room now or you can start in 5 minutes.'
My biggest problem was every single year some teacher or administrator just couldn't do this. Their egos couldn't handle not being bossy.  So every year, 90% of the staff would use the techniques and he'd be fine. Decent grades, no major behavior issues. The other 10% would be a constant nightmare, and inevitably take little things and escalate them into him having a full on meltdown. I swear some adults have such fragile egos they need to get into a pissing contest with a child to validate themselves. Then he'd end up in alternative school. And that's what really derailed his educational track. 
He dropped out and he is getting his GED.. After that he's going to trade school.  Fortunately, we're in a financial position to help support him during this.  In contrast every other kid with ODD I knew from the parental support groups when he was little are in prison, homeless, drug addicts, etc.  One killed a guy.  One finally got kicked out of his house for beating his mom and younger siblings. So, hey!  We're doing great by that metric. >

So this is coming from someone with absolutely no experience with ODD and having never heard of it prior, but I'm very curious so forgive me if this is really basic knowledge.
Is that something a child grows out of at a certain point?  I know plenty of adults who have incredibly fragile egos but I can't help but think that descriptor would be applied to someone with ODD just as easily once they hit adulthood without prior knowledge of their condition.  
It's good that your son's going into trade school and it seems like he's got things in order from the sound of it, but do you anticipate any issues with apprenticeships or the educational structure they have in place for such skills? >

It's primarily a childhood disorder. It's not generally diagnosed in adults. It's not so much that you grow out of it, but the child either got treatment and grows up able to self-manage....or they are in prison and nobody cares what their diagnosis is. >

How does an ODD child who has had the benefit of most of the adults in his life framing things as “requests” instead of orders going to be able to handle working in a real world job? Especially a trade where most supervisors are not the coddling type. >

Children haven't developed executive function and self control, so part of what you're doing is buying them time for those things to develop. And, honestly, if you've never worked in construction you'd be surprised. Those folks are micromanaged less than many white collar jobs or the service industry generally.  You show up, you do your job right, and you're golden.  They cuss more and are rougher around the edges, but he likes that kind of stuff. 
Right now he's working in fast food, and as long as they put him on the grill and leave him alone, he's a star employee.  The few times they tried to make him work drive thru...yeah. That went hilariously poorly. >

Jfc. I hope Zwerner sues the shit out of assistant principal Parker’s ass too. Seriously, it took 4 teachers and a guidance counselor to press the issue and this bitch still said “no” to search the kid and calling the police. Unbelievable. >

“That teacher called the school’s office and shared what she knew with a fourth teacher who picked up the phone, the notice stated. The fourth teacher relayed the information to Parker, who said she was aware of the threat and that the student’s backpack had been searched.
The third and fourth teachers conferred again. And the fourth teacher returned to Parker’s office, where a guidance counselor was raising similar concerns about the student having a gun, the notice stated.
The guidance counselor asked if he could search the child for a weapon, to which Parker said “no” because the child’s mother was arriving soon to pick him up, the notice stated.
“Then approximately 45 minutes later Ms. Zwerner was shot in her left hand and upper chest by the shooter,” the notice stated. “Ms. Zwerner was sitting at her reading table when the shooter, who was sitting at his desk, pulled the gun out of his pocket and shot her one time.”
She (Parker) had a guidance counselor in her office and still said “No”.  Man, that’s really fucked up. This kid has serious fucking problems and there shouldn’t have been a firearm in the house, hell, I’d hide the forks.
That poor teacher, I hope she recovers and goes after everyone who was complicit in this. >

When I was in school one of my classmates was suspended for a week for gluing her hair into a mohawk/fauxhawk. It's insane this violent little shit gets less punishment than her (which she didn't deserve). >

I had a Mohawk as a kid. I got a warning for spraying bright pink the first day I had it. I was told that I couldn’t do color unless it was permanent, but I could keep the style. >

Mohawk was fine, but not the color? Lmao. Arbitrary dress codes are so ridiculous. >

Oh. I have more stories for how ridiculous our elementary school admin was. 
Calling the cops on kids for nothing, then doing nothing when there’s a kid being actually violent. 
Banning certain playground games or fads with no real justification except that some kids feelings got hurt. 
My mom still talks about how much of a nut job that principal was. >

I saw a kid expelled for drawing "guns" and threatened with "terroristic threat charges".  A middle schooler was copying an anime.
The same administrator ignored a repeat sexual assailant who would routinely reach up girls shirts. The kid was back in the classroom within 30 minutes while the victims were still crying in the office. >

We a had a kid who was a habitual stabber. He would stab kids, one in particular who happened to be one of my best friends, with thumb tacks. He pushed one deep into the back of my friends neck and was back in the classroom after 20 minutes while my friend went to get a tetanus shot and went home. 
I stood up to the kid because I was physically as big as he was and wasn’t scared of him. He stabbed himself in the arm with a thumb tack and said I did it in revenge. I got in more trouble for his accusation than he ever did for actually doing it. 
Luckily, his family moved after 4th grade so we didn’t have to deal with his psychopathic ass anymore. I actually wonder what happened to him. He could’ve grown out of it and become totally normal, or he didn’t and his rich parents made excuses for him the whole time and he’s a POS. >

It's emblematic of our current justice system as well.  People are way WAY too concerned for the feelings of perpetrators. >

Every child deserves an education, but not all children should attend a regular school.  At some point the other 19 kids matter more than one unfortunately, broken kid. >

19?! Try 39. >

39 doesn’t even account for kids in other classes that he threaten at recess, lunch, and the bathroom.  Little shit should already have been in prison but I’m sure he’ll get sent to another school instead. >

“I’ve always been suspicious of transfer students.  Other principals try to unload problem cases that way.  Lord knows I do.” >

This boy is either from a troubled home life, or is a budding psychopath. Hey, it happens.
Here's the crazy thing: When you have an obviously disturbed student, you cannot leave these kids in regular schools! There was enough evidence that he was violent and unrestrained. I don't blame this teacher for suing. This was a HUGE failure by the administrators to keep everyone safe. WTF. >

I worked for the School system. It takes months and months of documentation to get kids kicked out of normal schools. I'm talking proof of repeated and tiered behavior interventions, escalating violence, complaints from other parents directly to the school district after their kids were attacked. Documented attacks on staff members. There needs to be a completely separate system to house this population in that doesn't require a kid to pretty much kill someone to get placed into. It's not fair to the rest of the kids to put up with being terrorized because a population of students wants absolutely nothing to do with School or violently rejects learning how to be a functioning member is society. >

Absolutely not fair to the rest of the kids!  I'm a first grade teacher and have had many students throughout the years with unpredictable and violent behaviors.  Other students are still generally pretty accepting at that age.  They know that they are supposed to be nice to everyone and include them in their play so they do.  However, they are definitely more tense around these students.  When a student with unpredictable or violent behaviors is absent, there is a noticeable change in the climate of a classroom.  Other students are so much more relaxed and ready to learn.
I absolutely believe that every student is entitled to an education.  But when 24 other students (or a whole school for that matter because one student can for sure change the climate in a school) receive a lower quality education to accommodate for that one student, it just isn't okay. >

I encourage all of you to go lurk at posts on /r/teachers to get an informed look on this situation and the overall state of education surrounding it >

The Teachers subreddit is one of the most depressing things I’ve ever read. I quit teaching almost a decade ago and it was bad then. I can’t imagine how much awful it is now. >

I thought I wanted to be a teacher, so I studied secondary education at university. Was placed at a local high school for my student teaching. 
Changed my major after that. Absolutely got fed up with dealing with admins who won’t act and parents who think their precious babies are beyond reproach.
Put parents in the schools in an educator’s role and let them see first hand what is going on. Maybe then they’ll actually make an attempt to raise decent human beings.
(There are many, many good kids in school. But the bad kids make the job impossible.) >

I went to a private school, and I'm increasingly glad I did. Not just for the academics and setting (beautiful campus), but also because we just didn't have discipline problems. 
There would usually be one "bad" kid every couple years who made it through the screening process, but "bad" usually meant serious ADHD and a tendency to break boundaries, not violent malevolence. And the other kids simply wouldn't brook it.
I live in a city with bad schools now. If I ever move to a rich suburb, I'll consider public schools for my kids. But, realistically, if I have the money, I'll send them to a good private school, assuming I find one where the kids are merely overprivileged like we were, rather than spoiled goons. >

I'm not a teacher, but I work for a school district. One of my schools is a choice school that focuses on STEM. That means despite being a public school, a certain number of enrollment slots are reserved for students that live outside the area. Sounds pretty cool, right? When I first heard about it, I thought it might be cool to send my kid here someday. Then I started working there. I would never send my kid to this school and I'm seriously thinking of sending my kid to a private school my friend works at. >

This school district 100% feared being sued by the child's parents over his "rights" to a public education. Now look what happened. I hope she gets a bajillion dollars. >

Sounds like it. When I heard that the parents had to be in the class with the kid I knew something was fishy. That's not normal at all. 
Everything that keeps coming out makes this thing sound worse and worse. Admin/district leaders just shouldn't lose their jobs or get sued, they should face jail time. Everything I keep reading sounds like multiple people reported about this kid and nothing was done. >

Agreed, and finding out that he shot her the day of returning from a ONE day suspension for smashing her phone??!! And he choked the daylights out of another teacher?? It just gets worse and worse - and seriously along with the administration, these fucking kids that are just knowing what a scary kid he is having to deal with him too?? >

And the parents just happen to not be there on the day he returned even though, as I read, they were supposed to be in the room with him always.
The sad thing is this kid will rejoin a school at some point. And I seriously doubt he won't keep causing problems. >

Someone who said they work in the district on r/teachers said that the care plan (not IEP) the kid was under that said a parent would be with him had ended that week. Parents didn’t want him tested because they didn’t want him labeled. I don’t know about VA laws, but in my state, if a parent declines testing the school can’t go over their head. It’s a serious problem. >

Well, they don't really have a choice about him being tested now, as he was hospitalized according to their own statement. >

Yeah, good point. It just sucks that he had to be hospitalized involuntarily for that to happen when the signs were clearly abundant beforehand. >

This is an all to common situation.  Problems are ignored or downplayed until something serious happen.  It's the easier option and in some cases it's impossible to legally intervene earlier.  In VA schools cannot do behavioral issue/learning disability testing without the parents or guardian's consent and in this case it appears they were resistant to testing.  Without a diagnosis schools don't get any extra resources for problem kids or send them to a specialized class or school.
I'm not defending the administrators in this case. They should have been on high alert about this kid, and any suspicion of a student bringing a gun to school requires some sort of action. >

A six year old who tried to choke a teacher and shot another one.  It just blows my mind.  When I think about what I was up to at 6, that type of behavior didn't even exist in my mind.  So much shit must be wrong with that child that I do not even see a way he could be helped. >


So much shit must be wrong with that child that I do not even see a way he could be helped.

I was thinking this too.  This little kid must be so messed up maybe nature but more likely nurture.  What the heck does society do with these kids.  It is so so sad. >

You lock him away and never let him see the ligh of day again unless you want a mass killer. >

I have heard that there are children who are not salvageable.  I don't want to believe it but so I have heard.
My sister worked with autistic kids who would regularly attack the teachers.  My sister would regularly wear heavy sweaters to protect herself.  Who knows what one of these kids would have done if they had access to a firearm.  Sadly a lot of kids may well kill if they had a weapon.
I also read about a kid who killed his entire family.  He went on to become a university professor.   
I always wonder how much is evil in a person and how much is opportunity? >

So I used to be an advocate for kids in foster care. First time I met one of my kids was in a mental hospital bc the foster mom dumped her there and CPS had no other placement. While I was visiting there was a little girl maybe 6 or 7 who was having a visit with her parents. The parents started chatting me up talking about how the little girl tried to murder the mom/stab her or her other sibling. Just insane shit. The fucked up part was the little girl was smiling and the parents were almost proud of their kid’s deeds being so fucked up. It would not shock me if the 6 year old in the news had parents like that little girl I met. 
The child I advocated for eventually was adopted by a relatively normal family member a few years later after being bounced around foster homes. >

Sadly that little girl probably would have killed someone if she had a gun.  
I heard the term "unsalvageable" decades ago.  It is so unpalatable that maybe the term was dropped.  Have you ever heard it?  Also have you known kids that you would apply that term to? >

Yeah I can definitely see her killing one of her family members had she had a gun. I’ve never heard that term. I was only an advocate for a few years so I can’t say if one of my kids was “unsalvageable”. Based on what I did see, kids are resilient and given a decent environment can make GIANT behavior changes in a positive way. If there’s something horribly wrong it’s usually because the parents are awful. One of my kids did a complete 180 when she was placed with her relative. Biomom was a drug addict with a revolving door of low life boyfriends who allegedly would abuse my kid physically and sexually. But with her relative she was more like a normal preteen. I lost contact because of the pandemic, but I hope she’s doing well. >


f there’s something horribly wrong it’s usually because the parents are awful. One of my kids did a complete 180 when she was placed with her relative.

Thanks.  That is really hopeful. >


“The shooter spent his entire recess with a gun in his pocket, a gun that was loaded and ready to fire ... while lots of first-grade students played.”

This is the first notice that the gun was in his pocket.
What gun can't be seen in a 6 year olds pocket?
The teacher must have been afraid of Admin to not walk out. She texted her Sister an hour before this happened being convinced he had the gun.
This is all so insane.
Further on - The teacher requested anonymity because she fears potential retaliation from the school district.
That was the one that got choked. Seems the district is the only possible employer living there, which kind of makes sense. Whole place needs to be started from scratch. >


She texted her Sister an hour before this happened being convinced he had the gun.

Whoa, every week this story gets extra wtfs. >

I already said this in the thread, but why was she waiting for principal approval and not just call police herself? I get not wanting retaliation but as we’ve seen with so many school shootings it’s not just a threat… I’m just really confused by this. >

We've been at this point for a long long time. Teachers have no power over these students. They are not respected. They are underpaid. They are abused and undermined regularly. Schoolboards are terrified of lawsuits and will side with the student anytime they can. 
Students can and do abuse the system. Children that don't respect boundaries or rules can run pretty wild. It's about time that a schoolboard reform happens, and litigation that can happen to schools needs to be severely limited. >

Wait—- no mention of charges against the parents who had a handgun easily accessible to this child??
Those parents need to arrested and charged and made an example of >

Right? You’ve got some little sociopath in your house and you have weapons that are easily accessible??? I’d lock up the steak knives if this were my kid. >

I’m a middle school teacher. I got a 7th grader this year that comes with his own county-funded social worker that follows him around all day. The reason is that in elementary school, the kid violently attacked THREE DIFFERENT TEACHERS. He hasn’t attacked me yet, but cusses me out on a daily basis and says he’s going to kill me. He’s not allowed to go on his chromebook in class because he views and shares inappropriate things. By inappropriate things I have personally witnessed pics and videos of mutilated corpses and simulated (I hope) videos of “furries” being beaten. He’s very anti-furry, and anti-LGBTQ. He watches TikToks of extreme right wing channels ranting against “furries hurting children”. Per his case manager, he somehow caught a bird at lunch one day and smashed it in his hand, which frightened other students. He would also browse Amazon for gun parts to build a ghost gun because his mom said he can’t have one at his age. 
Anywho, I’ll probably be doxxing myself when you see me interviewed on the local news after the anchor says, “but school staff said there were signs early on…” >

Kid's well on his way down the serial killer path. >

Checks all the damn boxes. And at this age with puberty hitting…..this is gonna be bad. >

The article says Richmond VA but the school is Richneck in Newport News >

This kid is 100% a prime candidate for conduct disorder and eventually Antisocial Personality Disorder in adulthood. Probably with Psychopathy. >

Perhaps he will run for the Senate..sounds qualified >

Overqualified for that.
He’ll go straight to being a CEO of a Fortune 500 company.
Probably in big pharma or oil. >

Here’s what is confusing to me: the kid was supposed to be accompanied by his parents at school. What kind of an insane distraction is this kid to everyone else before the shooting? Clearly, there’s special needs that should be addressed outside of a regular classroom. >

The more I hear about this boy and his behavioral problems the more I think he may have conduct disorder. >

The more I hear about him, the more I think he's a poster child of a failed policy that was originally designed to protect at risk students but has in practice robbed schools of their ability to dismiss dangerous ones.  This one just happened to actually be able to successfully act on his impulses.
It's time to go back to easily expelling kids who fight, threaten, or behave aggressively. >

Yup, it's the old "least restrictive environment," issue. >

They expected the PARENTS to come in and be with him in the classroom all day in lieu of actual supports. Everyone failed this kid. >

Everyone, including the teacher that showed up everyday and tried to teach this kid, only to get shot? I don't think I would put blame on the teacher. This kid needed a one-to-one aid or a self-contained classroom with educators trained to handle students with this level of behavioral problems. However, districts don't want to pay for that stuff, and parents push back because they feel it would "ostracize" their child. So what happens? Teachers get to deal with it, while trying to maintain a safe and educational environment for all of the other kids who aren't trying to kill the teacher.  And if a teacher complains about the student, they are told to work on classroom management skills or they are given a bad eval. 
The parents and the admin don't want to deal with kids like this, so the shit rolls downhill to the people with the least power on the system: the teachers. >

The teachers are absolutely not to blame for acts of violence in their classrooms. They don't even have a fraction of the authority they used to. They're unable to actually do anything to mitigate the violence.
In my school, the most they can do is hand out lunch detentions, a single period detention where the teacher also still has no authority. Meaning the kids ignore them and treat it as an indoor recess. >

Look at all the teachers being absolutely NOT shocked by any of this >

Something wrong with his medulla oblongata. >

Maybe he’s just angry because he has all them teeth and no toothbrush >

I can't understand why the school let him come back! This kid needs far more help than a public school can probide. >

I said as soon as I read the initial article (about the shooting) that there would have been warning signs- that were obviously ignored. I said "ask any teacher" in response to some early question re warning signs (before the news stories came out) and got jumped on. OF COURSE there were warning signs...and sadly of course they were ignored (by those in power). >

Parents should be charged; they failed this kid from day 1 and now people are shot/hurt because this 6yo monster is allowed to behave unchecked. >

They also allowed him access to the gun. They claim it was properly secured, but it obviously was not since their kid shot a teacher with it. Parents absolutely should be held responsible if their child shoots someone with a gun they own. >

Never met a six year old I couldn't keep a gun from. Its actually pretty easy. Parents are responsible for the gun and should be punished. Simple as that. >

You hear cases of kids accidentally shooting people because the gun wasn't properly secured, but this one was even worse knowing this kid's behavioral problems and violence. They had an unsecured gun in a home with an extremely violent child. You'd think even for their own sake they would have wanted the gun secured if not even having one inside the house in the first place. They could have pissed him off one day and he might have killed them. >


They could have pissed him off one day and he might have killed them.

That can still happen. >

At six years old, this kid is doomed. Imagine being that dangerous at that age. >

I just can’t wrap my head around a kid this young being this violent. It’s so insane to me. >

I met a kid before that was clearly disturbed and exhibited some very disturbing behaviour early on. And he had some very attentive parents too who were trying their best to help him cope with his issues. Imagine if they were shitty parents too. That kid would have probably seriously hurt someone by now. >

That’s so sad. So young. But what do you do? What punishment fits the crime? He’s violent yes but he’s a literal child. It makes me nauseous thinking about it. Hate it so much. >

I don't know, but I don't believe a kid like this can get better. Their brain is just wired wrong. IMHO he should be institutionalised before he's old enough to cause real damage to those around him. >

Ya for sure. I agree. >

Same kid 10 years later: High school student kills 20, injures 10+ >

We know why administrator Parker resigned her position - she knew she had fucked up and would be held responsible.  The principal is still employed by the school district - I wonder who is protecting her.  The incident happened on her watch - she is ultimately responsible for everything that happens in the school. >

This really hits home for me.
I have a 6 year old who is a few sizes larger than his peers. We took him to one karate class and were told he punched too hard and had to be put with the older kids. He is just physically much more imposing than anyone his age. My biggest fear, since his birth, was that he could be the bully, or worse. That he would resort to violence.
As it turns out, he is a big softy, like his old man. He loves to dance, and to play, and to be with his friends. To me, he is the light you hope to have in your life.
All that being said: we do not own firearms, but if we did, I would still lock those up tight so he could not get them. To do any less would be irresponsible in the extreme.
I hope the teacher gets every penny. I hope the kid gets the counseling and whatever he needs to turn his life around, if that's even possible. I hope those parents are held criminally liable for their son's actions. And hopefully some action can be taken by schools to fix situations like these. >

I am dying to see what this kid looks like. I guess we'll finally get to when he kills someone at 14 and gets tried as an adult. Is he huge? I can't believe he was allowed in school, this is so ridiculous.
Uses a pretty sophisticated choke maneuver over a year ago. Smashed his teacher's phone, gets one day of suspension, comes back with a gun and tries to kill her. He obviously sits around seething and plotting killing adults. Good luck with this one, what do you even do? >

Schools haven't been able to easily expel students since IEPs were implemented.  I'm willing to bet you this kid is under one.
They are a good thing for most students, but I'm of the opinion that violent students should not be eligible.
In THEORY, violent or aggressive kids can still be expelled, but in practice, it's too many hoops to jump through and the school isn't going to try and defend why they want to expel Johnny because he was caught trying to stab other students with scissors.  Instead, they'll just put Johnny in a room by himself or move the other students around -- and surprise, his problems are never addressed. >

Previous articles have revealed he did in fact have an IEP, his parents attending school with him every day was a part of it. This happened the first week that they did not come to school with him. >

This whole situation is terrible.  This kid doesn't need a trial, he needs an institution.
And generic public schools are not equipped or appropriate for this BS. >

Sounds like a bad seed , bad parenting , incompetent school system platter. >

IMO, the parents should be held accountable and charged. >

Local PD has contracted him to join the force when of age. >

I think the teacher needs to be given enough money to where she never has to work again.  As for the boy, he just seems like a bad egg.  You can't prosecute him or put him in a detention facility because he's too young.  Unfortunately, the only real approach is to medicate the hell out of him and put him in the foster care system.  Good luck finding foster parents. >

I mean, that 16 year old that stabbed that girl 114 times when he was 14 is facing life in prison without parole. Who knows what this kid could do within 10 years if he’s already doing this stuff at 6. >

Ten years?  No, if he's not carefully monitored/restrained/institutionalized, we're going to hear about him in four years when he's 10 and has strangled a toddler - for shits and giggles. >

A six year old using violence with such agency can't manifest without, at best, parental neglect, but more likely active abuse; Hold them accountable. That being said the administrator who neglected to act on all those red flags should be ashamed and held accountable, too. Whatever part the broken education system played in it was likely small, but it will be center stage for the politicians because that's where money touches the issue. >

Agree. The parents need to held accountable for the actions of their 6 year old child. >

There is no way I can see the parents not being responsible, yet they keep reiterating the high level of gun safety they practice and his special needs. It’s not convincing. >

How the hell does a 6-year-old successfully choke an adult? 
Have they tried an exorcism on this kid? >

Also not for sure what gun this kid had but what about the recoil? I was surprised when I went to a shoot range for the first time how much just a pistol can pack a punch if you’re not holding it correctly… had the six year old shot the gun before? >

Not to mention the sheer size of a normal 9mm. I can't imagine how a kid that old could hold the grip and be able to reach the trigger. Assuming it already had a round chambered, hammer was cocked, safety was off. >

If what is reported in media is true, this child is pure evil.  I know this is going  to be unpopular  but perhaps a secure mental institution is the best place for him. >

I used to work with kids like this. It’s easy to blame the kid, but over 99% of the time, the parents are entirely to blame. Many parents teach their kids to be complete pieces of shit, and normalize violence. Very rarely is a child evil. 
This child needs repercussions of some form, but these parents need to be thoroughly investigated before anything else. Locking up a child will only cause them to be released back into the public as a teen/adult, and they will be 100x more dangerous and violent. >

I completely agree that parent carry majority of the blame.  However, what have the other kids done to deserve this?  Don't they deserve some kind of protection and go on living normal productive lives?  
At what point do we draw the line?
​
"Two days before the shooting, the boy allegedly “slammed” Zwerner’s cellphone and broke it,"
"She said that in 2021, the boy came up behind her as she sat in a chair in the front of the class, locked his forearms in front of her neck and pulled back and down, hard"
Slamming the phone?  Choking the teacher to the point where someone has to intervene.  
This is a time bomb waiting to go off IMO. >

And if she'd bruised this little angel defending herself from being choked, she'd have faced severe consequences. And the headlines would be all about a teacher abusing a kindergarten student. It took this shooting for people to realize even 6 year olds can be violent. >


...and once choked another teacher "until she couldn’t breathe".

He's 6. Just...how? >

From what that child’s behavior has been like, I think it ought to be institutionalized. >

What the hell is that boy’s problem?! What has him like this? WHERE ARE THE PARENTS?!
If you can’t correct your little bad ass bastard, you need to start to. He’s already on a bad track record. >

Alternative school for him then.  What's that? The state shut them all down? Sorry teacher, you re on your own. >

How do we not know more about the parents by now? >

Things like this are happening to nurses as well. We have special codes to call, emergency badges and buttons. We are told "they are confused or hurting or sad or mad". Several in my profession have just decided to call the police and file assault charges on the patient because most times nothing is done.
Is this an option for teachers? Getting punched, pushed and kicked is not part of either profession. I do feel a bit safer about the gun thing as I work on a locked unit. .🥺 So sad it has come to this. >

One issue contributing to this is lack of funding. Teachers are absolutely overwhelmed. The special needs classrooms are gone and all the special needs children are mainstreamed. Parents are also being allowed too much say in school affairs. (My wife taught for 20 years) >

Oh dear GOD!! Why was this child not removed from mainstream classrooms? >

This kid needs a lobotomy, minimum. Just a fukin waste of resources. I only hope  the admin people get totally screwed and sued as long as the teacher/victim gets an ungodly amount of compensation. Have his parents been charged yet? >

Mainstreaming special needs kids makes sense to a point, but any kid who’s behavior is this uncontrollable shouldn’t be in a regular classroom. >

There's a pattern here. >

Beginning to think this lad isn't quite all there. Got some bats in his belfry, he does. >

Who else read “REDNECK ELEMENTARY” the first time? >

People reacting like this 6 year old boy is the story. He isn’t. It’s his caretakers, it’s a society that allows this to happen, that doesn’t protect children, it seems. >

This child is dangerous and should not be in a general education classroom. Simply being a child should not make him immune from the ramifications of his violent actions and tendencies. He clearly needs medical/psych intervention. >

Hit his guardians with jail time. >

This kid's destined for a Netflix documentary. >

Okay that’s it, we’re done with this little piece of shit kid…. Throw him in a hole and forget about him >

My exs brother was a sex offender when he was a “kid” , so idk man, I think you can still send kids to some sort of jail or fucking something cause guess what, he did it again when he was an adult. 
Little kids could be little assholes. >


The teacher requested anonymity because she fears potential retaliation from the school district. She said she reported the incident to school administrators, but did not receive the kind of supportive response she had hoped for from them.

The administration that found the gun earlier in the day but didn't notify anyone? Yea, I'd be worried about retaliation too.
Also why haven't the parents been identified or charged yet? In Florida a black father immediately got charged and identified because his son had an unloaded gun in his backpack, yet parents of a kid that actually shot someone get to stay at home hiding behind their lawyers? >

That kid has serious mental problems.  We will probably read about him again in the future. >

Too many people having kids when they shouldn’t be having kids. World is only gonna get worse. >

Six years old or not. He is a monster. >

This child at 6 years old. 6 years of life on this Earth. Got angry, got a gun, chokes teachers, threatens to shoot other little kids, etc. The brain is a powerful thing for sure but you don’t come out the womb like this. This is a hot mess. I pray that the parents are doing their best to bring up a well adjusted child. The evidence of this is lacking however. >

The difference between psychopath and sociopath? Sometimes they do come out of the womb that way. Sometimes a parent is one too. Sometimes. I don't know anything about this kid though. Also don't understand cruel hateful people. >

I just think exposure is huge here too. I imagine that a psycho/sociopathic child may start off by hitting. Or biting. Using tools available to them because all they know is yo gabba gabba. This former toddler brought a gun with the intent to hurt. The child pulled up on another kid with a gun and threatened them. Like a child soldier. The whole thing doesn’t seem like nature, it unfortunately looks like nurture to me. >

I mean he got the gun from his parents. The reason somebody would have a gun is because they've conceived of the idea that they will shoot someone. So yeah. >

Just one look at the parents and it explains everything…..they should be locked up. >

Oh yeah, I don’t blame any teacher leaving the practice when shit like this keeps on happening. >

The Bad Seed was a documentary >

God, just the more news that comes out, the more I'm excited for her to fucking sue the school. >

Put him away, if he can't rehabilitate himself then too bad. Society has a right to protect itself from monsters, even young ones. He's gonna kill somebody. >

Couple years older and he would have aimed better and succeeded at killing her. He definitely should not have any freedom for the rest of his life, the trajectory he's on is pretty clear >

I used to be a teacher and I left because of situations somewhat similar to this that just proved the whole system is broken. On one hand, these kids don't just deserve help, they desperately need it. At that age they are still young enough to have their behavior corrected. They need specialized 1on1 help that can eventually transition them back into a classroom setting. They need to have staff not only helping them, but to be able to closely supervise them for warning signs far closer than a teacher can. At the very least they need to be put in an environment that will keep them from getting worse.
As Samuel L. Jackson said though "I'd like that, but that shit ain't the truth." Truth is, schools don't have close to enough staff to even begin considering getting someone like that the help they need, much less the funds/resources that would be required. When I was teaching all I felt like I could do was stand and watch as the school as a whole failed students time and time again because we just didn't have the resources to actually help them. >

I agree, but who pays for all that for the millions of kids who need it?
What happens when there’s no school between June and September? >

We do, we pay for it. Hell, I'd much prefer my taxes go towards paying for schools like the one I worked at rather than the one's where I live that are already well funded. Instead schools in more affluent areas get orders of magnitude funding, while the schools in lower income areas get much less, even though their students actually need it more.
As for the summer, school run camps and activities are common, but that's beside the point. While some education tends to "slip," over the summer, the goal would be to help these students until they are at an age where it sticks. >

Sounds like she needed to drop kick this little fucker >

The parents - this headline is missing two people who are at fault >

I hope this kid faces actual consequences. What a little fuckin terror. >

Boy should be sent to a government lab experimented on forever >

I get that he’s 6, but kid is a psychopath path in truest sense & probably shouldn’t participate in society >

Little man fighting for super late abortion rights. >

Should be a felony for a minor to handle a gun, outside of the parent supervised home or the range. 
And Federal felony murder changes for the parent who owns the gun used by their child in the commission of a murder. >

When I first heard this story I knew that there would be more details that would come out that would actually have the effect of making the story worse than "first grader shoots teacher"...we have scared teachers...and of course scared students...who are worried about their day to day lives at school...and then we have administrators that are more concerned about the school district getting sued-and frankly get to go home at the end of the day and not spend the evening worrying about how tomorrow is going to go...and then we have the shooter's parents, who at some point in time agreed to attend school with their child-imagine that...and this was viewed as a viable solution to a problem- it is all such a typical mess of parents that feel like their child is above the needs of the others-it's really one of the reasons I gladly walked away from public education >

This little bastard has some serious problems. >

Both parents should be in jail. >

I bet he has FAS, thatll make you super aggressive >

Send him to the farm. No fixing that. >

That is a child who will need to be in custody for duration of his life. Very dangerous genetics >

If a child is found to have a gun at school, both parents should be charged with Class A felonies. >

Listen I’m not one to say that schools should be more trigger happy (literally not intentional, so don’t @ me), but the people in charge HAVE to start being more proactive when a child is clearly being a problem.  Whether it’s violent threats or this nature, bullying, whatever.
I get that we can’t just expel every kid that says or does something fucked up, but at this point, it’s become a tale as old as time: kid displays a pattern of problem behavior, multiple students and adults have documented the problem, and principle/administrators don’t do shit.  
This kid SHOULD NOT have been at that school. and the principal was well aware of that.  When you’re working with hundreds of kids a day for however many years, you can’t tell me you don’t know when one kid sticks out as a serious problem.  
It is the same exact shit every fucking time.  We can make pro or anti gun arguments.  Or we can realize that we can’t just underestimate certain behaviors when it comes to kids. >

Damn who is this kid is Chucky? >

Kid sounds like a real asshole. >

Jesus Christ, this kid is a lost cause. >

Anyone else thinking his disability is a personality disorder? This kid is not going to get better this kid needs to be institutionalized forever >

The boy had one of his parents sit with him every day since his special plan went into place. 
That means a parent was in school with him when he broke the teacher's phone. 
Then the boy was kept home, on suspension. 
So, on his first day back, it is also the first day there is no parent sitting with him.  And the day the parents' gun went missing, and the day kids reported a kid with a gun, and the day they searched and did not find a gun, because he had it in his pocket, not his backpack. 
Is anyone surprised with the result?  
These parents need to be locked up, and this kid needs to be placed somewhere with some very good support. >


this kid needs to be placed somewhere with some very good support.

Are you saying...a straight jacket with lumbar support? >

Fuck this kid and his parents.