Hey Mesa Nation, and welcome back to this week’s article on The Hitching Post. As the school year is coming to an end, I just wanted to wish you all an amazing summer, and can’t wait to write more for you in the fall. For this year’s last article, I will be covering some news from Virginia regarding a six year old boy, and a gun.
On January 6th, 2023, a six year old boy had brought his parents gun to school, and shot his first grade teacher, Abby Zwerner, in the chest and hand. Luckily, she survived. Officials have said that the little boy acquired the gun from his mothers purse, bringing it to school in his backpack.
At the time of this shooting, Ebony Parker was the assistant principal at Richneck Elementary in Newport News. Parker was warned about a possible shooting involving a six year old student that brought a loaded gun to school, however she ignored them. A teacher asked to search the child’s person, “the assistant principal said no.” Due to Parker ignoring the warnings, she was put on trial for child neglect, as opposed to blaming the child, who did the damage. After the shooting Parker resigned from her job.
Parker is currently being charged with eight counts of felony child neglect, one for each of the eight bullets in the gun that was brought into the classroom. Each count carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison upon conviction. Although some people are saying the six year old is to blame, court officials are arguing that Parker, “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”
This lawsuit claims that Parker had a duty to protect Zwerner and others from harm after being told about the gun. Zwerner’s attorneys also say that Parker failed to act in the hours before the shooting which ultimately puts her to blame. Just last November, a jury had awarded $10m to Zwerner, siding with her claims in a lawsuit that Parker ignored the repeated warnings about the child’s gun possession.
Alongside Parker serving time, the child’s mother, Deja Taylor, was sentenced to two years in prison on a state charge of felony child neglect and will begin her state sentence after she finishes serving 21 months on a related federal charge. She also pleaded guilty for possession of the gun and marijuana, which was illegal at that time.
This week’s trails are expected to last three days, and so far it’s looking good for Zwerner. If Parker is found guilty of crimes tied to the shooting, insurers could have a strong case not to have to pay Zwerner. But after reading this Mesa Nation, what do you think? Is Parker to blame? Or should the six year old be serving time? Let us know!
