AUGUST 15, 2023:
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (AP) — The mother of a 6-year-old who shot his teacher in Virginia pleaded guilty Tuesday (Aug. 15, 2023) to a charge of felony child neglect, seven months after her son used her handgun to critically wound the educator in a classroom full of students.
Prosecutors agreed to drop the misdemeanor charge of reckless storage of a firearm against Deja Taylor. As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors said they will not seek seek a sentence that is longer than state sentencing guidelines, which call for six months in jail or prison. A judge will have full discretion and will ultimately decide the length of Taylor’s sentence. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Oct. 27.
Taylor was charged in April with felony child neglect and a misdemeanor count of recklessly storing of a firearm.
The January shooting shocked the nation and roiled this shipbuilding city near the Chesapeake Bay. The case against Taylor is one of three legal efforts seeking accountability, including the teacher’s $40 million lawsuit that accuses the school system of gross negligence.
Police said the first grader intentionally shot teacher Abby Zwerner as she sat at a reading table during a lesson. Zwerner, who was hit in the hand and chest, spent nearly two weeks in the hospital and has endured multiple surgeries.
Moments after the shooting, according to search warrants filed in the case, the child told a reading specialist who restrained him: “I shot that (expletive) dead,” and “I got my mom’s gun last night.”
Police said the student brought the gun to school in his backpack, which had images of sharks on it, but it was unclear exactly how the 6-year-old got the gun.
During Taylor’s plea hearing Tuesday, a prosecutor said the boy told authorities he got the gun by climbing onto a drawer to reach the top of a dresser, where the gun was stored in his mother’s purse. Those details were contained in a “stipulation of facts,” a list of facts that both sides agree are true.
Taylor told police she believed the gun was in her purse, secured with a trigger lock, according to search warrants. She said she kept the gunlock key under her bedroom mattress. But agents with Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said they never found a trigger lock after conducting searches, according to federal court documents.
Taylor did not speak during the plea hearing except to answer questions from the judge about whether she understood the proceeding. She spoke softly and was asked by the judge to raise her voice.
In June, Taylor pleaded guilty in a separate but related federal case to using marijuana while possessing a firearm, which is illegal under U.S. law.
Taylor’s attorney, James Ellenson, said in April that there were “mitigating circumstances,” including her miscarriages and postpartum depression before the shooting.
Taylor told ABC’s “Good Morning America” in May that she feels responsible and apologized to Zwerner.
“That is my son, so I am, as a parent, obviously willing to take responsibility for him because he can’t take responsibility for himself,” Taylor said.
Her son has attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and was under a care plan that included a family member accompanying him to class every day, Ellenson said.
The week of the shooting was the first when a parent was not in class with him. The change was made because the boy had started medication and was meeting his goals academically, Taylor said.
“I just truly would like to apologize,” Taylor said on the show.
Ellenson said in court Tuesday that the boy is now in the care of his great-grandfather.
APRIL 3, 2023:
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A first-grade Virginia teacher who was shot and seriously wounded by her 6-year-old student has filed a lawsuit seeking $40 million in damages from Newport News school officials. The lawsuit filed Monday (April 3, 2023) accuses school administrators of gross negligence for allegedly ignoring multiple warnings on the day of the shooting that the boy had a gun and was in a “violent mood.” Abby Zwerner, a 25-year-old teacher at Richneck Elementary School, was shot in the hand and chest on Jan. 6 as she sat at a reading table in her classroom. She spent nearly two weeks in the hospital and has had four surgeries since the shooting. The Newport News School Board and its members didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on the lawsuit.
JANUARY 30, 2023:
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (AP) — Students and teachers returning to the Virginia elementary school where a 6-year-old boy shot his teacher will see visible signs of stepped-up security. Richneck Elementary School in Newport News is set to reopen Monday (Jan. 30, 2023), more than three weeks after the Jan. 6 shooting. Police have said the boy brought a 9mm handgun to school and intentionally shot his teacher, Abby Zwerner, as she was teaching her first-grade class. Zwerner was hospitalized for nearly two weeks but is now recovering at home. A school district spokesperson said two metal detection systems have been installed and two security officers have been assigned to the school. The principal and assistant principal have both left their jobs, and a new administrator has been appointed to lead the school.
JANUARY 13, 2023:
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A school superintendent says administrators at the Virginia school where a first-grader shot his teacher last week learned the child may have had a weapon in his possession before the shooting but did not find the 9mm handgun he brought despite searching his backpack. School system Superintendent George Parker told parents Thursday night (Jan. 12, 2023) in an online meeting that a school official was notified about the weapon before the 6-year-old shot the teacher at Richneck Elementary in Newport News. A spokesperson for the school system said the student’s backpack was searched right after the tip was received. WAVY-TV broadcast a clip of the superintendent saying “at least one administrator was notified of a possible weapon.”
JANUARY 10, 2023:
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (AP) — A Virginia police chief says a 6-year-old student fired the handgun that wounded a Virginia first-grade teacher while she was teaching class. Newport News Police Chief Steve Drew on Monday (Jan. 9, 2023) offered the first description of how the shooting happened. He had previously said that the shooting was not accidental and declined to elaborate. He said the student pulled the gun out, pointed at the teacher and fired at her. He said there was no physical struggle over the gun preceding the gunshot. Teacher Abby Zwerner is in stable condition in an area hospital.
JANUARY 7, 2023:
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A Virginia teacher who was critically injured when she was was shot by a 6-year-old student in Newport News is showing signs of improvement. Newport News Mayor Phillip Jones said Saturday (Jan. 7, 2023) that the teacher’s condition is “trending in a positive direction” as she remains hospitalized. Authorities say the boy shot and wounded the teacher in a first-grade classroom on Friday at Richneck Elementary School. Police Chief Steve Drew said the shooting was not accidental and was part of an altercation. No students were injured. Jones declined to release additional details about what led to the altercation. He also would not comment on how the boy got access to the gun or who owns the weapon.
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