Police have taken a 6-year-old boy into custody after he shot and killed a teacher at Richneck Elementary school in Newport News, Virginia on Friday, January 6.

In a news conference, Chief Steve Drew of the Police Department stated that "the individual is a 6-year-old student." He is currently in police custody.

"We have been in touch with our commonwealth lawyer and other entities to ensure that we provide the best services for this young man."

Drew said the female teacher in her 30s was shot inside a classroom and added that "this was not an accidental shooting."

According to the police chief, there was an altercation between a teacher and a student who was carrying a gun, and that one round was fired.

Drew, who had earlier said the teacher was in critical condition, said Friday evening January 6, her injuries were considered life-threatening but that there was "some improvement in the last update that we got."

The investigation is ongoing, he said.

"We’ll get the investigation done, there are questions we’ll want to ask and find out about. I want to know where that firearm came from, what was the situation," Drew added.

Richneck Elementary School will be closed Monday, Jan. 9, according to Newport News Public Schools Superintendent, Dr. George Parker.

"I’m in shock, and I’m disheartened," Parker said. "We need to educate our children and we need to keep them safe."

"We need the community’s support, continued support, to make sure that guns are not available to youth and I’m sounding like a broken record today, because I continue to reiterate that: that we need to keep the guns out of the hands of our young people," the superintendent said.