NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — A criminal investigation into staff members at a Virginia school where a 6-year-old shot his teacher will continue, prosecutors said Thursday, one day after a former assistant principal was charged with felony child neglect.
Gwynn said the grand jury is no longer empaneled. But his office will continue investigating school officials in the January 2023 shooting at Richneck Elementary. Nickerson, whose research focuses on preventing school violence, said caregivers are facing greater scrutiny for how they respond to possible threats.
The report also identifies a series of unaddressed security issues at the school, including a front door buzzer system that was not fixed for “weeks on end,” resulting in “no security as to who comes and goes in and out of the school.” Police officials have been criticized for waiting far too long to confront the gunman, who killed 19 children and two staff members. The school system’s police chief was fired three months after the tragedy.