NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — January 6 marks one year since a 6-year-old boy shot his teacher in her classroom at Richneck Elementary School.
The shooting was intentional, according to police and court documents.
When the news broke, it left not only the city of Newport News in shock but also the whole country. Security and leadership changes were quickly in the works within the Newport News School Division.
Newport News Mayor Phillip Jones won't forget January 6, 2023. He recalls coming back from a run and checking his phone.
"I had 12 missed calls on both of my phones," he said. "I called back and realized this is going to be a day for our city."
Jones, who was scheduled to be sworn in as mayor just four days later, said he rushed to Richneck Elementary School after hearing a 1st grader shot his teacher.
"I think an incident like Richneck makes everyone come together faster," he said.
Since that day, school division leaders made several changes. The school board voted to remove Superintendent Dr. George Parker and replace him with Dr. Michele Mitchell.
Richneck Elementary's Assistant Principal, Dr. Ebony Parker, resigned from her position not long after the shooting. Parker is accused of ignoring multiple reports that the boy had a gun with him at school.
The school's principal, Briana Foster-Newton, was not on school grounds that day. She took on a different role within the division.
In response to the shooting, the school division also hired extra hands. Marc Stewart took on a new role as Executive Director of Crisis Planning and Prevention.
Newport News School Administrators implemented dozens of new security measures, including adding weapons detection systems in every school. They purchased 90 in total with the help of the city council. They also began to require students to carry clear bookbags.
Newport News Public Schools also added 45 new security officers and 10 substitute officers.
In a roundtable discussion regarding school infrastructure earlier this week, Dr. Mitchell pushed for better security in some of their older buildings with funding just awarded to the state.
"Most of our buildings are well over 50 years old. Many of them, as you enter the building from the office, you can’t see who is coming in. Of course, we’ve done other things like swipe cards and buzzers," she said.
During that same meeting, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine recalled meeting with family members in the weeks following the Richneck Elementary School shooting.
"Thank God that the teacher was not killed but the level of fear that people had about coming to school and dropping their kid off was really palpable."
Congressman Bobby Scott echoed that, saying more needs to be done about gun safety.
"We need to be serious about gun safety and there’s a lot of support. People who are against it need to get out of the way," said Scott.
U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona told 13News Now any violence in schools is a cause for concern.
"We have to do more. Infrastructure is safety," he said. "It's on everyone's mind, every educator's mind, every parent's mind. As ranking member Scott said, we need to come together on this and those who are more interested in protecting guns than protecting children, need to get out of the way."
Jones said he admires the way first responders, teachers, parents, and everyone in the community came together.
"I think that day just shows how resilient of a community we are," he said.
Jones said he spoke with Abby Zwerner’s family at the hospital that night and he says he continues to wish her well in her recovery.
He also has a message for the city as they continue to move forward.
"Something that was very traumatic happened. Something that was all over national news, made international news. I am proud of everyone in Newport News that was able to pull together," he said. "We look forward to moving into a strong new year for Newport News."
We reached out to administrators with the school division and all the school board members to hear their perspectives one year later, but we did not receive a response from the vast majority; School Board member Douglas Brown told 13News Now he respectfully declined to speak with us due to ongoing litigation.