Judge dismisses neglect charges against former assistant principal in Virginia school shooting

A judge has dismissed criminal charges against a former Virginia elementary school assistant principal who was accused of ignoring warnings before a 6-year-old student shot and wounded his teacher.

NBC News reports tht Ebony Parker had been charged with eight counts of felony child neglect in connection with the January 2023 shooting at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News. First-grade teacher Abby Zwerner was wounded in the shooting.

Judge Rebecca Robinson said she was striking all eight counts against Parker, who broke down in tears. The eight counts included one for each of the bullets in the gun the student used.

“The court is of the legal opinion that this is not a crime, not under the common law of Virginia, nor under the code of Virginia, and the court is going to explain its rationale and ruling,” Robinson said.

Prosecutors had accused Parker of ignoring repeated warnings that the student had a gun. Special prosecutor Josh Jenkins said that before the shooting, school employees told Parker they believed the child had a firearm in his backpack. Parker allegedly told the employees that the child’s mother would be arriving to the school soon to pick him up for the day.

Does she say ‘search the child’? No,” Jenkins told the jury. “Does she say ‘call the police,’ or does she call the police? No. Does she remove the child from the classroom and separate him? No. Warning after warning after warning, she did nothing."

Curtis Rogers, an attorney for Parker, said it was the responsibility of the teachers to do something if they believed the child had a gun. He told the court that the teachers could at least have separated the child from the other students in the classroom.

Zwerner testified at the trial that the student had acted out a few days before the shooting and was in a violent mood the day of the incident.

After being shot, Zwerner was hospitalized for several weeks, underwent six surgeries and still cannot fully use her left hand because of her injuries. A bullet narrowly missed her heart and remains in her chest.

At a civil trial last year, a jury awarded Zwerner $10 million after it found Parker liable for ignoring warning signs. Zwerner no longer works at the school.

The child’s mother, Deja Taylor, was arrested after the shooting on a state charge of felony child neglect, and federal weapons charges. She was sentenced in 2023 to two years in prison on the child neglect charge and 21 months on the federal charge.