Ex-Assistant Principal at School Where 6-Year-Old Shot Teacher Is Indicted – The New York Times

A former assistant principal at the Virginia elementary school where a 6-year-old boy shot his teacher last year has been indicted on eight felony counts of child abuse and neglect, according to court documents unsealed on Tuesday.

The former assistant principal, Ebony Parker, was indicted by a grand jury last month, according to Newport News Circuit Court records. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

Last year, Howard E. Gwynn, the Newport News commonwealth’s attorney, asked for a special grand jury to investigate security failures that may have contributed to the shooting and to determine whether others were criminally responsible. His office could not be immediately reached for comment on Tuesday evening. Ms. Parker’s lawyer also could not be immediately reached.

The charges against Ms. Parker came as adults are increasingly being held accountable in cases in which juveniles have caused gun violence.

The mother of the 6-year-old boy, Deja Taylor, was sentenced in December to two years in prison after pleading guilty to felony child neglect. Earlier, she was sentenced to 21 months after pleading guilty to using marijuana while owning a firearm and making false statements about drug use. The indictment against Ms. Parker was also unsealed on the day that two parents in Michigan were sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison for failing to prevent their son from killing four fellow students in the deadliest school shooting in that state’s history.

The former assistant principal, who resigned after the shooting at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Va., is among several school employees listed as defendants in a lawsuit filed last year by the teacher, Abigail Zwerner, who was seriously injured on Jan. 6, 2023, when the boy pulled out the gun during the middle of an afternoon class, aimed it at her and fired. A single bullet passed through Ms. Zwerner’s hand and struck her chest.