A first-grade teacher in Newport News, Virginia, was shot by a 6-year-old student on Friday.

Abby Zwerner, 25, had just finished reading a story to her class at Richneck Elementary School. And the class was going to an art lesson.

The child pulled out a handgun. And “intentionally” shot his teacher at point-blank range. And a single bullet went through her hand and into her chest.

Newport News Police Chief Steve Drew emphasized that the shooting was directed and intentional.

'It was in a classroom, an altercation took place there,' he explained. 'We did not have a situation where someone was going around the school shooting. We had a situation in one particular location where a gunshot was fired.'

First-grade teacher wounded

After she was shot Zwerner managed to get all the children out safely.  And no one else was harmed when the students fled to another classroom.

'She was going to confiscate it, and that's when he shot,' said Brittaney Gregory, whose son was a student in the class during the incident.

Lawonda Sample-Rusk was at the school to pick up her two grandchildren early.

Rusk told local news outlet WKTR that she and the school receptionist heard Zwerner cry out 'I'm shot, I'm shot. Call 911.'

At first, they believed the teacher had just been wounded on her hand, but then she “'passed out on the floor.' And there was a wound in her lower chest, as well.

The women stayed with Zwerner keeping pressure on the wound. Other school personnel herded young students to designated safe zones.

Zwerner was transported to a local hospital in critical condition.

Chief Steve Drew met with Abby Zwerner and her family on Saturday. And said her condition had been updated.  Her wounds were described as “life-threatening.” And she is now in serious, but stable condition.

Drew also hailed Zwerner as a hero. And said she made sure all of the children in her class were safe and out of the room before she tried to get help for herself.

He also claimed that the first thing she asked him when he visited was “do you know how my students are.”

Unprecedented arrest

The six-year-old boy that shot his teacher was described as 'combative.' And he was physically detained by a school employee after the shooting. The police confirmed that he hit the person that was holding him.

Police later confirmed the gun was brought into the school in the student’s backpack. And it belonged to his mother who had legally purchased the weapon in York County, NY.

Virginia law states that guns need to be secured away from any child under the age of 14. So, it is possible that the child’s mother may be charged.

The child is not being identified due to his age. He has been moved into a medical facility where professionals continue to evaluate and treat him.

When they arrived at the scene, an officer placed him in a police car. And he and his mother were later interviewed.

The school has 550 students from kindergarten to fifth grade. And classes this week have been canceled.