Virginia fifth grader threatened to ‘pop bullets’ at school where teacher was shot by 6-year-old

A fifth-grade student at the same Virginia school where a 6-year-old shot his teacher last month was yanked from classes this week after threatening to “pop some bullets.”

The youngster, who was not identified, also texted classmates over the weekend someone should “shoot up the class,” officials at Richneck Elementary School said in a letter to parents on Monday, NBC News said in a report.

“One of the students stated that they would ‘pop some bullets’ and tell someone to shoot up the class,” Karen Lynch, the administrator at the Newport News school, said in the letter.

“I immediately contacted the student’s parents and excluded the student from school,” Lynch said. “A thorough investigation is underway with the police department. A threat assessment is in progress.

“Threats and safety concerns are always taken very seriously,” Lynch wrote in the letter. “Please rest assured that all protocols are being followed and this incident is being addressed accordingly.”

The student made the threats while texting with classmates on Saturday, with one of the youngsters reporting it to his parents, who then notified the school, NBC said.

The school was closed for President’s Day on Monday, but the youngster was not allowed to return to classes when they resumed Tuesday, the outlet reported.

The school did not say how long the youngster would be kept out of school.

The troubling incident comes just weeks after a 6-year-old student at the school shot and wounded teacher Abby Zwerner with his mother’s 9 mm handgun.

Officials said the boy, who was also not identified, had an altercation with Zwerner just two days before the Jan. 6 shooting, during which he “slammed” her cell phone.

The student was suspended for one day and returned with the gun the following day — pulling out the weapon and shooting Zwerner while she sat at a reading table.

The 25-year-old teacher survived the shooting and is still recovering, while the boy was moved to another class in another school in the district, officials said.

“It is a miracle that more people were not harmed,” Diane Toscano, the wounded teacher’s attorney, said in a legal filing earlier this month.

“The shooter spent his entire recess with a gun in his pocket, a gun that was loaded and ready to fire … while lots of first-grade students played.”