Parents of 6 Year Old That Shot Teacher Charged With Neglect

In January, a six year old boy brought a gun to school in Newport News Virginia.

Then he shot his teacher, leaving her critically injured from a bullet that struck her chest. She was released from the hospital more than a week after the shooting.

According to investigators, Deja Taylor’s son shot his teacher Abigail Zwerner, 25, on January 6 at Richneck Elementary School. The gun was purchased legally by Ms. Taylor and allegedly kept in the bedroom closet, surrounded by a trigger lock.

The boy had a history of disturbing behavior, including cursing at staff members, trying to whip students with his belt and choking a teacher, according to a legal notice sent to the school board.

According to reports, the boy spent the entire recess with a gun in his pocket, with his hand in that pocket while lots of first grade students played.

In her first interview since the shooting, Zwerner said she couldn't forget the look on the child’s face as he aimed the gun at her. “I remember him pointing the gun at me, I remember the look on his face,” she said. “I remember the gun going off.”

A lawsuit brought this month by Zwerner alleges both the school administrators and the school board were aware of the student’s history of violence and did not act proactively amid concerns over a firearm in the boy’s possession the day of the shooting.

According to research by the K-12 School Shooting Database, a public database that has documented gun violence on education campuses since 2018, there has been 89 school shooting incidents in the USA so far in 2023.

At Child Rights Foundation, we advocate for protecting children, no matter the cost, no matter the inconvenience, and holding parents responsible for both abuse, and neglect.