A former assistant principal at a Virginia elementary school has been charged with felony child negligence, more than a year after a 6-year-old boy took a gun to class and shot his first-grade teacher.
According to indictments unsealed Tuesday, a special grand jury in Newport News determined that Ebony Parker recklessly endangered the lives of Richneck Elementary School pupils on January 6, 2023.
Parker and other school officials are already facing a $40 million negligence action from the teacher who was shot, Abby Zwerner. She accuses Parker and others of ignoring repeated warnings that the youngster had a gun and was in a “violent mood” on the day of the incident.
Criminal charges against school authorities after a school shooting are uncommon, according to experts. Parker, 39, is facing eight felony counts, each punishable by up to five years in jail.
The Associated Press reached out to Parker’s attorney, Curtis Rogers, for comment on Tuesday.
Court filings filed Tuesday show little about Parker’s criminal case, including merely the counts and a summary of the felony accusation. Parker, according to the lawsuit, “did commit a willful act or omission in the care of such students, in a manner so gross, wanton and culpable as to show a reckless disregard for human life.”
According to Newport News police, the student who shot Zwerner grabbed his mother’s firearm from atop a dresser at home and brought it to school concealed in a backpack.
Zwerner’s lawsuit details a series of warnings given by school staff to administrators before to the incident. According to the lawsuit, Zwerner began warning Parker that the kid “was in a violent mood,” had threatened to beat up a kindergartener, and was staring down a security officer in the lunchroom.
The lawsuit claims that Parker “had no response, refusing even to look up” when Zwerner conveyed her concerns.
When concerns were expressed that the youngster had shifted the gun from his backpack to his pocket, Parker responded that his “pockets were too small to hold a handgun and did nothing,” according to the lawsuit.
A guidance counselor also asked Parker for permission to search the youngster, but Parker refused, “and stated that John Doe’s mother would be arriving soon to pick him up,” according to the lawsuit.
Zwerner was sitting at a reading table in front of the class when the child shot the gun, according to authorities. The gunshot struck Zwerner’s hand first, then her chest, causing one of her lungs to collapse. According to her lawsuit, she spent nearly two weeks in the hospital, had many operations, and is still dealing with emotional damage.
Parker and the case’s other defendants, including a former superintendent and the Newport News school board, have attempted to stop Zwerner’s lawsuit.
They claim that Zwerner’s injuries fall under Virginia’s workers’ compensation legislation. So far, their arguments have failed to prevent the litigation from moving forward. The trial date for Zwerner’s claim is set for January.
Prosecutors stated a year ago that they were looking into whether any “actions or omissions” by school staff could result in criminal charges.
Howard Gwynn, the Commonwealth’s Attorney in Newport News, stated in April 2023 that he had petitioned a special grand jury to investigate whether any “security failures” contributed to the shooting. Gwynn stated that an investigation could result in recommendations “in the hopes that such a situation never occurs again.”
This is not the first school shooting to result in a criminal probe of school administrators. For example, a former school resource officer was cleared of all charges last year after allegedly hiding during the Parkland school tragedy in 2018.
Chuck Vergon, a professor of educational law and policy at the University of Michigan-Flint, told The Associated Press last year that it is unusual for a teacher or school official to be charged in a school shooting since claims of criminal negligence are tough to prove.
Those affected by school shootings are more likely to bring civil action against school administrators, he said.