Further information has come to light about the January episode in which a six-year-old student from Virginia shot his teacher, Abby Zwerner.
According to police search warrants recently made public, the boy commented, “I shot that (expletive) dead,” and admitted to accessing his mother’s gun.
Zwerner, who suffered wounds to her chest and hand, has initiated a $40 million lawsuit against Newport News Public Schools.
The sound of the gunshot was heard by a reading specialist near Zwerner’s classroom at Richneck Elementary. Students vacated the room, revealing an injured Zwerner and the boy standing with the handgun on the floor. The specialist secured the boy until the police’s arrival.
A loaded 9 mm handgun and a spent shell casing were discovered in the classroom by the police. Zwerner described the event, noting the boy directed the gun at her and fired.
The child’s mother, Deja Taylor, is faced with charges of child neglect and mishandling firearm storage. Taylor insists the weapon was locked away, but the key to the gunlock was found beneath her mattress.
This incident has spurred a lawsuit against the school, claiming negligence and previous alerts about the child’s aggressive tendencies being ignored. The school board highlighted that the boy was being evaluated for potential ADHD. According to existing laws, students with behavioral concerns are integrated into regular classrooms.
The case is slated for a plea hearing in the following week.
