NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - More than two months later, many people are still wondering whether anyone will face charges after police said a 6-year-old boy shot first-grade teacher Abby Zwerner at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News.
On Wednesday, Newport News Commonwealth's Attorney Howard Gwynn told News 3 his office does not believe the law supports charging and convicting a six-year-old with aggravated assault.
However, on Thursday, the Commonwealth's Attorney's Office released a statement saying in part:
"Our objective is the same as it has always been — to be thorough, to be objective, and to apply the law to the facts fairly and impartially. And after that analysis is done, our objective is to charge any person with any crimes that we believe we can prove beyond a reasonable doubt."
News 3's legal analyst Dr. Eric Claville said the two statements from the Commonwealth's Attorney beg the question of who is responsible for the actions of the child if anyone.
"This is a very, very, very unique situation," said Claville.
Claville explained why it's difficult to charge and convict a six-year-old.
"Children cannot be charged with a crime because they lack what's called the mens rea, or the intent or the actual knowing that a wrong-doing has been done," said Claville.
He said often times parents are charged in cases where children harm someone with a gun, but not always.
"It all depends on where the investigation goes, where the evidence actually leads, of course, parents are responsible for the actions of their children, but the law does limit to what extent parents are responsible for it," said Claville.
With every day that passes since the shooting, community members grow frustrated. Grandparent Vonda Pendleton told News 3 she wants answers.
"Someone is responsible, and someone needs to be held responsible," said Pendleton.
Claville said the entity that might be facing litigation is the school.
"It's safe to say there could be a very very high probability that the school and maybe even some of the administrators and individuals involved will have some liability in this situation," said Claville.
News 3 did reach out to Abby Zwerner's attorney for comment and did not receive a response. We also reached out to James Ellenson, the attorney for the parents of the six-year-old, who said this:
"A six-year-old cannot be deemed to form criminal intent due to his age. On the civil side, it is known as the Tender Years Doctrine. It was the correct call by Mr. Gwynn. The parents continue to cooperate with the authorities and we, as always, continue to pray for the well-being and speedy recovery of Ms. Zwerner," said Attorney James Ellenson.
