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NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A former assistant principal at an elementary school, who is accused of ignoring warnings that a six-year-old boy was seen with a gun before he shot his teacher last year in Virginia, has been charged with felony child neglect, according to reports.
Criminal charges were filed against 39-year-old Ebony J. Parker, who resigned weeks after the shooting in January 2023. She’s facing eight felony counts of child neglect over the shooting that nearly killed Richneck Elementary School teacher Abby Zwerner, according to court documents unsealed in Newport News Circuit Court on Tuesday. Each count carries a five-year maximum sentence, reported The Telegraph.
On March 11, a special grand jury returned the indictment. An arrest warrant was issued for Parker on Tuesday. As of Wednesday morning, she had not yet surrendered to authorities.
Prosecutors allege Parker, “[b]eing a person responsible for the care of students under the age of 18,” committed “a willful act or omission in the care of such students” that was “so gross, wanton, and culpable as to show a reckless disregard for human life,” according to a copy of the indictment obtained by The Virginian-Pilot.
On Jan. 6, 2023, at around 2 p.m., the 6-year-old boy took a handgun from his hoodie, pointed it at his teacher, and discharged a single round. The bullet struck Zwerner’s hand and chest.
Zwerner, 26, of nearby Williamsburg, Va., was rushed to Riverside Regional Medical Center with life-threatening injuries, Law Officer reported last year.
“This was not an accidental shooting,” Newport News Police Chief Steve Drew told reporters during a press conference following the shooting.
Police said the student who shot Zwerner took his mother’s handgun from on top of a dresser in his home and brought the weapon to school hidden in his backpack, reported The Telegraph.
Zwerner remained hospitalized in serious condition for several weeks. She resigned from Richneck Elementary School in June 2023 and subsequently filed a $40 million lawsuit against the school district.
In the civil action, Zwerner accuses Parker of ignoring multiple warnings that the boy, named John Doe in the proceedings, had the gun in his possession and was in a “violent mood” that day.
Zwerner’s attorneys singled out Parker’s actions on the day of the shooting when filing a a pre-lawsuit notice.
“Three different times Assistant Principal Parker was warned by concerned teachers or employees that the shooter had a gun on him at school,” the notice said, according to the Daily Press. “The tragedy was entirely preventable if Assistant Principal Parker had done her job and acted when she had knowledge of imminent danger.”
“Assistant Principal Parker was made aware at the beginning of recess that Ms. Zwerner was afraid that the shooter had a gun in his pocket,” the civil claim goes on. “And again nothing was done.”
Multiple teachers had concerns the boy possessed a firearm, and finally another teacher searched his backpack, but did not locate the weapon, Law&Crime reported.
Parker was reportedly told that the boy had claimed to be in possession of a firearm, and Zwerner saw him remove something from the backpack prior to the shooting.
However, Parker did not allow school employees to conduct further searches of the boy or his possessions. An hour later, Zwerner was shot.
According to the lawsuit, Parker “responded that John Doe’s pockets were too small to hold a handgun and did nothing.”
Zwerner’s lawsuit also noted the boy had “a history of random violence,” including attacks on students and teachers.
Abby Zwerner, a first-grade teacher at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Va., suffered “life-threatening” injuries after being shot by a six-year-old male student on Jan. 6, 2023. [GoFundMe]
After Parker’s indictment was unsealed, Zwerner’s attorneys released a statement.
“These charges are very serious and underscore the failure of the school district to act to prevent the tragic shooting of Abby Zwerner,” lawyers Diane Toscano, Kevin Biniazan and Jeffrey Breit said. “The school board continues to deny their responsibility to Abby, and this indictment is just another brick in the wall of mounting failures and gross negligence in their case.”
The boy’s mother, Deja Taylor, 25, was charged with felony child neglect in April 2023. She was later sentenced to two years in prison. The boy will not be charged.
Last month, in an unrelated case, James and Jennifer Crumbley, parents of Ethan Crumbley who killed four and wounded seven others during the 2021 mass shooting at Oxford High School in Michigan, were found guilty of four counts each of manslaughter.
On Tuesday, both parents were sentenced to 10-15 years in prison. Their son is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
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Source: www.lawofficer.com