Washington, Jan 10 (IANS): A six-year-old boy who shot his teacher at a school in the US state of Virginia sued his mother's legally purchased handgun, police said.

The incident took place on January 6 at the Richneck Elementary School in the city of Newport News, about 112 km south of the state capital Richmond, the BBC reported.

Addressing reporters on Monday, the city's police chief Steve Drew said the child brought the pistol to school in his backpack and fired one round at his teacher, Abigail Zwerner, during class.

He added that the "shooting was not accidental, it was intentional".

The police called the 25-year-old Zwerner, who remains in hospital in a stable condition, "a trooper and a hero", adding that she has asked him repeatedly about the well-being of her students who were in the classroom at the time of the shooting.

Zwerner was struck through her hand and into her upper chest, Chief Drew said, adding that she then made sure her students were safely outside the classroom, before making her way down to the school's administration office to call for help.

"She turned around to make sure that every one of those students was safe," the BBC quoted the police chief as saying.

The police found a 9mm Taurus pistol in the class near the student's desk, along with his backpack, a mobile phone and one spent shell casing.

Chief Drew said police determined through an interview with the child's mother that the gun was bought legally and stored in their home.

The child, who has not been identified, was taken into custody immediately after the incident and is undergoing evaluation in hospital, police said, adding that they will seek a temporary detention order.

Police are continuing to investigate the incident, Chief Drew said, including conducting more interviews with witnesses and local child services.

The school will remain closed all week to give students and families "time to heal", he added.