The mother of a 6-year-old boy who shot his teacher at an elementary school in Virginia in January was indicted by a grand jury.
Howard Gwynn (the Newport News Commonwealth’s attorney) said that Deja Taylor would be facing felony child neglect charges and a misdemeanor charge of recklessly leaving a loaded firearm so as not to endanger children.
According to his family, the student used his mother’s 9mm gun in the shooting at Richneck Elementary, which left Abby Zwerner severely injured. After three warnings that the student had brought a gun to school, the teacher filed a lawsuit against the district for $40 million.
Later, the family claimed that the student suffered from an “acute disability” and was often under the care of at least one parent during school hours. The shooting occurred on the same day as the shooting.
In a previous statement, the family stated that they would regret their absence “for the rest of their lives.”
Diana Toscano was Zwerner’s attorney. She stated that both the mother and school officials should be held responsible.
“Abby was almost shot because of failures at multiple levels in accountability,” said Toscano. Toscano said that today’s announcement only addresses one of those failures.
She added, “Our lawsuit clearly demonstrates that we believe the School Division violated state law. We are pursuing this in civil courts.” “We won’t allow school leaders to avoid accountability for their part in this tragedy.”
In March, Newport News’ prosecutor stated that the boy would not be charged with the shooting. The family previously claimed that the gun had been legally purchased and was out of reach of the child.
Zwerner is expected complete recovery.
Taylor could spend five years in prison if she is convicted of one of these charges.
Here is more information about Taylor’s arrest:
