Mum of six-year-old boy who shot his teacher faces multiple criminal charges
A mum of a six-year-old boy who shot his teacher at a Virginia school has been slapped with multiple criminal charges.
Deja Taylor, 25, has been indicted by a grand jury with a felony charge of child neglect, as well as a misdemeanor charge for recklessly leaving a loaded handgun that endangers a child.
Her son allegedly took a gun from home in his backpack to Richneck Elementary School in Newport News on January 6. It was then that he shot teacher Abigail Zwerner, 25, reportedly in the hand and chest during a lesson.
She sustained crticial injuries, but survived the shooting. On Monday, April 10, the grand jury returned two indictments related to the shooting.
In a statement from the office of the Commonwealth's Attorney for the Commonwealth of Virginia, officials said: "Deja Taylor has been charged with felony child neglect and misdemeanor recklessly leaving a loaded firearm so as to endanger a child.
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Abigail Zwerner, 25, was shot in the hand and chest - but ushered children out of the classroom before being taken to hospital
Abby Zwerner suffered life-threatening injuries (Facebook)"These charges come after a thoroough investigation by Newport News Police Department and this Office. Based on that investigation, this Office determined that the facts and the law supporting charging Deja Taylor, the mother of the six-year-old child alleged to have shot his teacher at Richneck Elementary School, with these two offences."
Commonwealth's Attorney, Mr Howard Gwynn said: "Every criminal case is unique in its facts, and these facts support these charges, but our investigation into the shooting continues."
Police Chief Steve Drew characterised the shooting as "intentional", saying there was no warning and no struggle before the child pointed the gun at Zwerner and fired a round. The teacher swept her children out of the classroom before being rushed to hospital.
Previously, the family had claimed in a statement following the shooting that the gun was secure, and police said the mother legally purchased the firearm. A statement from the family through their lawyer, James Ellenson, said: "Our family has always been committed to responsible gun ownership and keeping firearms out of the reach of children."
Newport News Police Chief Steve addresses media during a press conference at the Newport News School Administration Offic (John C Clark/AP/REX/Shutterstock)They said the "firearm our son accessed was secured". However, the statement did not clarify where the 9mm handgun was kept, or what they meant by "secured."
Mr Ellenson said that he understood the gun to be in the mum's closet, on a top shelf more than six feet high. He also said the weapon had a trigger lock, requiring a key like a bike lock.
As the news of the indictment came out on Monday, April 10, Mr Ellenson said that his client plans to turn herself in later in the week.
Prosecutors have previously explained it was unlikely the child himself would be charged in connection with the shooting. Mr Gwynn told NBC News the "prospect that a six-year-old can stand trial is problematic". This is because the child is too young to understand the legal system.
Police tape hangs from a sign post outside Richneck Elementary School following the shooting (Getty Images)The family of the boy said he has an "acute disability" and was under a care plan. This "included hs mother or father attending school with him and accompanying him to class every day".
They said the week of the shooting was the first where a parent was not in class with him. They also said in the days following the shooting, the child was placed under hospital care and was receiving "the treatment he needs".
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An attorney for Zwerner, Diane Toscano, said there were "failures in accountability at multiple levels" which led to the shooting.
Speaking about the indictments against the boy's mother, she said: "Today's announcement addresses but one of those failures."
Abby Zwerner suffered life-threatening injuries after she was shot with a handgun at Richneck Elementary School (Facebook)Just days after the shooting, school officials revealed that administrators at the elementary school suspected the child may have had a weapon before the shooting took place.
Despite searching his backpack, they didn't find it.
At a school board meeting following the shooting, parents and teachers criticised the school's priority on attendance over safety of children and staff. They said pupils who assaulted classmates and staff often faced few consequences.
They also claimed Zwerner's shooting could have been prevented if not for what they called a toxic environment in which teacher's concerns were ignored.
Zwerner's attorneys filed a lawsuit at the beginning of April, seeking $40 million in damages, accusing school officials of gross negligence and ignoring multiple warnings from teachers and other school staff the day of the shooting that the boy was armed and in a "violent mood".
Newport News Councilman Elect John Eley, South District 3, speaks at a candlelight vigil (John C Clark/AP/REX/Shutterstock)In the lawsuit, her attorneys said all of the defendants knew the boy "had a history of random violence" at school and home - including an episode the previous year when he "strangled and choked" his kindergarten teacher.
"Our lawsuit makes clear that we believe the school division violated state law, and we are pursuing this in civil court," Toscano said on Monday, April 10.
A petition has also been launched by the Commonwealth's Attorney to the Circuit Court to build a Special Grand Jury to "continue the investigation into any security isues that may have contributed to this shooting."
The Commonwealth's Attorney has said that the Special Grand Jury's investigation will continue "as long as necessary" to determine whether there are any others "criminally respomsible for the shooting".
Police respond to a shooting at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Va., Jan. 6, 2023 (AP)"The safety and security of Newport News students is of utmost importance," Mr Gwynn said.
"The Special Grand Jury will investigate to determine whether additional charges against additional persons are justified by the facts and the law. If the Special Grand Jury determines that additional persons are criminally responsible under law, it can return additional indictments."
The law on felony child neglect in Virginia says any parent, guardian, or person responsible for the care of a child "whose willful act or omission in the care of such child was so gross, wanton and culpable as to show a reckless disregard for human life" is guilty of a Class 6 felony. This is punishable by up to five years in prison.
In terms of the misdemeanor charge, it's against Virginia law to "recklessly leave a loaded, unsecured firearm in such a manner as to endanger the life or limb of any child under the age of fourteen". That charge is punishable by up to one year in jail.
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