On Friday, a six-year-old child in the eastern US state of Virginia opened fire in an elementary school classroom, critically injuring a teacher, according to police.
In the event at Newport News’ Richneck Elementary School, no pupils were wounded.
The victim, a 30-year-old teacher, was described by police as having serious injuries that could have killed her.
The recent tragedy of an 18-year-old gunman killing 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas last May is only one example of the tragic trend of school shootings in the US.
According to the Gun Violence Archive database, there were around 44,000 gun-related fatalities in the United States last year, with self-defense, murder, accidents, and self-defense accounting for about half of these incidents.