RICHMOND, Va. -- Before ringing in the new year, CBS 6 is taking a look back at some of the most-read articles published on WTVR.com in 2023.
Shooting injures teacher at Richneck Elementary School
It was around 2 p.m. on Friday, January 6, when a shot rang out, according to Newport News police, in a Richneck Elementary classroom.
A six-year-old student shot his first grade teacher.
Abby Zwerner spent two weeks in the hospital and had four surgeries for injuries to her hand and chest.
An investigation later revealed the child took the gun from home and brought it to school.
The child’s mother was charged with using marijuana while owning a firearm. She pleaded guilty to felony child neglect in August 2023 and was sentenced to 21 months in prison.
Scripps News
Virginia mom whose son shot teacher sentenced on federal gun charges
In April, Zwerner filed a $40-million lawsuit against the Newport News School District accusing officials of gross negligence for allegedly ignoring multiple warnings on the day of the shooting.
Local News
Judge: Virginia teacher shot by 6-year-old can proceed with $40 million lawsuit
Irvo Otieno's Death and Investigation
On March 6, Henrico County sheriff’s deputies and employees of a Central State Hospital held down and pinned Irvo Otieno to the floor at the hospital for around 11 minutes prior to his death.
In the weeks that would follow the deputies, hospital staff, and sheriff’s office would come under scrutiny for the actions that led to his death. An autopsy would later determine his cause of death as asphyxia.
Local News
Federal agency investigating hospital where police brought Irvo Otieno
The family of Otieno, who was Black, has said he was brutally mistreated during a mental health crisis, both at the hospital and while in law enforcement custody for several days before his death.
Some of the defendants’ lawyers said Otieno was combative and they were simply trying to restrain him.
Ten defendants were originally indicted, though charges against two of the hospital employees were later dropped.
In September, Irvo's family settled a lawsuit against the state, county, and sheriff’s office for $8.5 million in connection to his death.
Local News
Irvo Otieno's family agrees to multimillion-dollar settlement
Attorneys for Otieno's family, including prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump and Virginia attorney Mark Krudys, said in a statement the family “is pleased that they were able to find a resolution outside of court in a manner that honors Irvo’s life.”
Dan Snyder sells Washington Commanders
On April 13, Dan Snyder's 20+ year reign in Washington D.C. ended as Snyder agreed to terms to sell the Washington Commanders.
A group, led by Josh Harris and Mitchell Rales and included Magic Johnson, agreed to buy the team for a record $6.05 billion.
Scripps News
NFL owners unanimously approve the $6.05B sale of the Commanders
Snyder’s time as owner in Washington was plagued by multiple investigations by the league and Congress into workplace misconduct and potential improprieties.
King's BBQ announces closing in Petersburg
April also saw the end of a Central Virginia landmark in the closing of King’s Barbecue in Petersburg. Alicia Keeler, the granddaughter of the restaurant’s founder, John King, and her husband decided to step away saying they thought it was something they HAD to do.
"You fight that. You want to go on. But you know, your body just can't do it," Matt Keeler said. "[It's] the hardest decision we ever had to make. Just pure heartache. It really is not that we don't want to do the restaurant anymore. It's more of our, our body and our minds don't want to keep going."
Eat It, Virginia
'Unreal turnout' forces Virginia barbecue restaurant to close for good
Khalil Watson walks for graduation years after he was paralyzed
In May, a Virginia man's work to walk across the stage at his graduation captured the attention of the world. Khalil Watson, nearly seven years after he was shot in the back and neck, walked to get his degree with the help of a robotic exoskeleton loaned out by Sheltering Arms Physical Therapy.
Watson said he first used the robotic exoskeleton a couple of years ago during physical therapy at Sheltering Arms.
The device detects the body's movement to allow Watson and other wearers to walk or perform other physical tasks. It is mostly used for physical therapy sessions to help improve mobility and independence.
Sheltering Arms is loaning out the device so Watson can make his graduation walk, with the help of two therapists.
"You never know, one day I might be out of this wheelchair," he said.
Local News
330 million people watched his viral graduation walk. What now?
Shooting outside Altria Theater kills kills two
June 6, 2023, is a day that brought with it tragedy in Central Virginia. Minutes after Huguenot High School's graduation ceremony wrapped, shots rang out in Monroe Park killing two people and injuring more than a dozen others.
Five other people were wounded by gunfire, and at least 12 more people suffered other injuries or were treated for anxiety due to the mayhem, according to police.
Huguenot graduate Shawn Jackson and his stepfather Renzo Smith were killed in the shooting.
Local News
Witnesses describe the chaos as shots were fired after high school graduation
Amari Pollard was arrested and charged with their deaths. Police said Jackson and Pollard had known each other before the shooting.
According to a search warrant affidavit filed in Richmond Circuit Court, police said the shooting was carried out over an "ongoing feud that Shawn Jackson had with several individuals" tied to a shooting in 2020 in which a person was killed by "associates of Jackson."
The shooting shined a renewed light on Richmond Public School’s policies on how students participate in graduation ceremonies.
At the time of the graduation, Jackson was on ‘homebound’ services within the district meaning he was not physically attending school. He was allowed to attend graduation.
Later in the year, the Richmond School Board requested a third-party investigation into what led to the shooting including RPS' safety protocols, operations, and handling of all matters connected to the shooting.
While the report was given to the school board in November it still hasn’t been made public.
Local News
Why Richmond Schools refuses to release the mass shooting report to the public
CBS 6 reached out to every school board member who read the report.
While they said they could not share information about the contents of the report, some used words like 'shocking,' 'disturbing,' and 'disappointing' to describe the findings. Board members Jonathan Young and Kenya Gibson also told CBS 6 that the report showed RPS failed to follow its own procedures and prioritize safety.
A jury trial for Amari Pollard is set to begin on February 26. 2024.
Local News
Trial date set for Richmond man arrested in graduation day shooting
Six Flags merges with Kings Dominion
November saw a big change for Virginia theme park fans as Cedar Fair and Six Flags Entertainment Corp. agreed to merge, bringing Six Flags to Virginia for the first time.
Six Flags and Cedar Fair have talked about potential deals before, with Six Flags previously making an offer for Cedar Fair in 2019, but it was turned down. SeaWorld approached Cedar Fair with a bid last year, but that proposal was also rejected.
The company now owns 27 amusement parks and 15 water parks in North America. The deal is expected to close in 2024.
Local News
Six Flags over Virginia? Kings Dominion is part of massive amusement park merger
Richmond says NO to Casino for 2nd time
In November 2023, Richmond voters again voted down a casino along Interstate 95 in South Richmond. This is the second time the proposal was put before voters and shot down in just two years.
In 2020, state politicians approved legislation that would allow five casinos to be built across Virginia, only if voter approval was secured first. Three casinos, in Bristol, Portsmouth, and Danville, have opened so far.
Local News
Richmond voters say 'no' to $562 million casino
Skill games ban goes into effect
November also saw the end of a long-time Virginia gas station staple -- skill games.
The Virginia Supreme Court vacated an injunction in October that allowed thousands of the betting machines to remain in operation.
In 2020, Virginia’s General Assembly passed legislation outlawing the games but former Governor Ralph Northam delayed the start of the ban to help the state raise money for COVID-19 relief efforts.
Then in 2021 when the ban would go into effect a lawsuit was filed to keep the games running claiming the ban was unconstitutional and a violation of business owners’ and customers’ First Amendment rights.
The state supreme court found that the lawsuit was unlikely to succeed and lifted its injunctions.
Law enforcement began notifying business owners to remove their skill games or face legal consequences.
Local News
Virginia restaurant owner fears losing skill games will hurt her business
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