At least one official at the Virginia school where a 6-year-old boy shot his teacher last week was tipped off the child had brought a 9mm gun to class, but did not find the weapon and take it away, the Newport News school superintendent revealed.  

School system Superintendent George Parker admitted to parents during an online town hall Thursday night an unnamed staff member at Richneck Elementary School had been told the first-grader had a gun in his possession.

“At least one administrator was notified of a possible weapon in the timeline that we’re reviewing and was aware that that student had — there was a potential that there was a weapon on campus,” the superintendent told parents.

He also said the boy’s backpack was searched, but no gun was found. However, two-and-a-half hours later, the 6-year-old pulled out his mother’s 9mm Taurus handgun during an argument with teacher Abigail Zwerner and shot her.

The Newport News police chief previously said the boy brought the gun to school in his backpack.

Details of who told the administrator about the handgun and why it wasn’t found and seized weren’t immediately available.

The virtual town hall was for parents only, but station WAVY-TV broadcast it after gaining access to the meeting from a parent.

Parker told parents security measures at local schools will be beefed up, beginning with Richneck Elementary, which will be equipped with a separation wall and doors to the second-grade hallway, a buzzer system and double entranceway.

The superintendent also said he was considering requiring clear plastic backpacks for students.

During a press conference earlier Thursday, Newport News School Board Chair Lisa Surles-Law announced that metal detectors will be installed at all local schools.

The board got the green light Wednesday to buy 90 walk-through metal detectors and has already begun ordering them, said Surles-Law.

Some schools will be outfitted with multiple detectors, reported 12 News Now. Surles-Law did not disclose the total cost of the devices.

Parker said earlier this week that the city already uses metal detectors and random searches in high schools and middle schools, but not at elementary schools.

Surles-Law said last week’s shooting changed that, adding she was sorry it happened “during their watch.”

“The time is now to put metal detectors in all of our schools,” she added at a news conference.

Richneck Elementary has been closed since the incident a week ago. As of Thursday, parents hadn’t been told if their kids will have to go back to the same classroom where the teacher was shot.

Surles-Law said Thursday that Zwerner’s condition was “improving every day.”

Police Chief Steve Drew has described the shooting as “intentional.” A judge will determine what’s next for the unnamed underage shooter, who is being held at a medical facility following an emergency custody order.

It’s unclear how the boy gained access to the weapon. A Virginia law prohibits leaving a loaded gun where it is accessible to a child under 14, a misdemeanor punishable with a maximum one-year prison sentence and $2,500 fine.

With Post wires