Charges dismissed against official at school where six-year-old shot teacher
BBC • • nation
Key Points:
- A Virginia judge dismissed all felony child abuse charges against former assistant principal Ebony Parker, who was accused of ignoring warnings that a six-year-old student had a gun before shooting his teacher in class.
- The judge ruled that the state had not made a sufficient case against Parker, rejecting claims that she showed gross negligence despite multiple warnings from staff and the teacher about the child's violent behavior.
- The January 2023 incident involved the child firing a single shot at teacher Abigail Zwerner, who required surgery after being injured in the shooting.
- The child's mother, Deja Nicole Taylor, pleaded guilty to felony child neglect and federal gun charges after the child brought her gun to school, and was sentenced to a total of over three years in prison.
- The child was not charged and reportedly obtained the firearm by reaching into his mother's handbag, where the gun was improperly stored despite her drug use.