A former assistant principal at a Virginia elementary school has been charged with felony child neglect over a year after a 6-year-old boy brought a gun to class and shot his teacher. Ebony Parker faces eight felony counts, each punishable by up to five years in prison. The boy retrieved his mother’s handgun from home and concealed it in his backpack before shooting his first-grade teacher, Abby Zwerner, at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News on January 6, 2023.
A negligence lawsuit has been filed against Parker and other school officials by Zwerner, who accuses them of ignoring warnings about the boy’s violent behavior before the shooting. School employees had raised concerns about the boy’s threats and aggressive actions, but Parker allegedly did not take appropriate action. When a counselor asked for permission to search the boy, Parker refused and instead said the child’s mother would be arriving soon to pick him up.
Zwerner sustained injuries to her hand and chest after being shot by the boy, leading to collapsed lung and multiple surgeries. Parker and the other defendants in the lawsuit have attempted to block the litigation by arguing that Zwerner’s injuries should fall under workers’ compensation laws in Virginia. However, their efforts have not been successful, and the trial date for Zwerner’s lawsuit is set for January.
A special grand jury was petitioned by the commonwealth’s attorney in Newport News, Howard Gwynn, to investigate any security failures that may have contributed to the shooting. The goal is to identify recommendations to prevent similar incidents in the future. Criminal charges against school officials following a school shooting are rare, as allegations of criminal negligence can be challenging to prove. More commonly, those affected by school shootings seek compensation through civil lawsuits against the school authorities.
This incident is not the first school shooting to lead to a criminal investigation into school officials. School resource officer accused of hiding during the Parkland school massacre in 2018 was acquitted of all charges last year. Experts say that it is uncommon for teachers or school officials to face criminal charges in school shootings, with civil court cases being a more typical route for seeking accountability. The case involving Parker and the negligent shooting incident at Richneck Elementary School highlights the complexities of holding school authorities responsible for failures that result in harm to students and staff.
