A local high school offers teacher Abby Zwerner a message of hope and resilience as she recuperates from being shot by one of her first grade students in Newport News, Va., on Jan. 6, 2023. (West Point High School)
The onetime assistant principal who worked at the Virginia primary school where a 6-year-old boy intentionally shot his first grade teacher in January 2023 has been indicted on eight criminal counts.
Ebony J. Parker, 39, stands accused of eight felony counts of child neglect over the shooting that nearly killed Richneck Elementary School teacher Abby Zwerner, according to court documents unsealed in Newport News Circuit Court on Tuesday.
A special grand jury returned the indictments on March 11 and the defendant is currently wanted for arrest on a warrant issued Tuesday.
Prosecutors allege Parker, “[b]eing a person responsible for the care of students under the age of 18,” committed “a willful act or omission in the care of such students” that was “so gross, wanton, and culpable as to show a reckless disregard for human life,” according to a copy of the indictment obtained by The Virginian-Pilot.
On Jan. 6, 2023, at around 2 p.m., the 6-year-old took a handgun from his hoodie, pointed it at his teacher, and fired a single round. Zwerner was shot in the hand and the bullet then went into her chest.
The victim was hospitalized and in serious condition for some two weeks. She resigned from Richneck Elementary School in June 2023.
Zwerner subsequently sued the school district for $40 million. In a pre-lawsuit notice, her attorneys singled out Parker’s actions that day.
“Three different times Assistant Principal Parker was warned by concerned teachers or employees that the shooter had a gun on him at school,” the notice said, according to reports. “The tragedy was entirely preventable if Assistant Principal Parker had done her job and acted when she had knowledge of imminent danger.”
On the day of the shooting, Zwerner went to Parker’s office to say that the 6-year-old was more “off” than usual, was in a “violent mood” and after threatening to beat up a kindergartner, he “angrily stared down” a security officer in the cafeteria, the notice says.
By 11:45 a.m., the filing alleges, a second teacher was told the boy had a gun in his backpack. The second teacher searched his backpack 45 minutes later, but couldn’t find a weapon. Zwerner said she believed he still had a gun because she saw him take something out of his backpack and put it in his pocket before the second teacher looked in his bag, the filing says.
The claim says the second teacher relayed her own concerns to Parker, who dismissed them because the boy “has small pockets.” At around 1 p.m., a third teacher was told by another student that the boy had a gun and threatened to shoot that student if he told anyone, the notice alleges. The third teacher “kept that student in her class because he was so upset,” Zwerner’s notice said.
The third teacher then told a fourth teacher, the document alleges, who then brought the issue up with Parker. She allegedly dismissed the concern saying that his backpack had already been searched. Two additional requests to search the boy for the gun were allegedly denied by Parker, the civil claim notice says.
“Assistant Principal Parker was made aware at the beginning of recess that Ms. Zwerner was afraid that the shooter had a gun in his pocket,” the civil claim goes on. “And again nothing was done.”
Parker resigned weeks after the shooting.
After the defendant’s indictment were unsealed, Zwerner’s attorneys released a statement to various media outlets.
“These charges are very serious and underscore the failure of the school district to act to prevent the tragic shooting of Abby Zwerner,” lawyers Diane Toscano, Kevin Biniazan and Jeffrey Breit said. “The school board continues to deny their responsibility to Abby, and this indictment is just another brick in the wall of mounting failures and gross negligence in their case.”
Criminal charges in the case are not new. And, Parker is likely to face substantial prison time if she is convicted as charged — one to five years behind bars per count.
The boy’s mother, Deja Taylor, 25, was charged with felony child neglect in April 2023 and later sentenced to two years in prison. She is currently serving a 21-month sentence for a federal firearms charge. The boy, who used his mother’s gun to shoot his teacher, will not be charged.
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