Assistant Principal Indicted on Child Neglect Charges After 6-Year-Old Shoots Teacher

A former assistant principal of a Virginia elementary school has been indicted on eight felony counts of child neglect following an incident on Jan. 6, 2023, at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia.

Charges and Allegations

The special grand jury found that Ebony Parker showed a "reckless disregard for the human life" of the students at the school where a 6-year-old boy shot and wounded his first-grade teacher. Each charge is punishable by up to five years in prison. The teacher, Abigail Zwerner, has also filed a $40 million lawsuit against Parker, alleging that she ignored several warnings about the boy having a gun in school that day.

Incident Details

The boy had obtained his mother's 9mm handgun and concealed it in his backpack and pocket before shooting his teacher during a reading class. The lawsuit describes multiple warnings given to school administrators before the shooting, indicating that Parker did not appropriately respond to these warnings.

Legal Actions and Sentencing

Deja Taylor, the mother of the 6-year-old shooter, had been previously sentenced to two years in prison for felony child neglect, and an additional 21 months in federal prison for using marijuana while owning a gun, which is illegal under U.S. law. The combination of her state and federal sentences amounts to a total punishment of nearly four years behind bars.

Lawsuit and Pursuit of Accountability

Abigail Zwerner's lawsuit holds the boy's parents responsible for not agreeing to put him in special education classes and highlights the failures in accountability at multiple levels within the school division. The lawsuit also names several school officials and leaders as defendants and pursues the matter in civil court.

Consequences for School Officials

The former superintendent, George Parker III, and former principal Briana Foster Newton, along with Ebony Parker, have been named as defendants. The superintendent was fired by the school board, and Abigail Zwerner no longer works for the school system and is no longer teaching.