The former assistant principal of Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia, where a 6-year-old shot his teacher in January 2023, has been charged with child abuse, according to court documents.
Ebony Parker is charged with eight counts of child abuse with disregard for life for the shooting, which left first-grade teacher Abby Zwerner with life-threatening injuries.
Parker resigned from his position shortly after the shooting and has not made any public comments about it since.
Zwerner is suing Newport News Public Schools for $40 million, accusing administrators of negligence that allegedly allowed the shooting.
Zwerner’s lawyers pointed to the accusations against Parker as another sign of the school district’s failures.
“These charges are very serious and highlight the school district’s failure to act to prevent the tragic shooting of Abby Zwerner,” attorneys Diane Toscano, Kevin Biniazan and Jeffrey Breit said in a statement. “The school board continues to deny its responsibility to Abby, and this indictment is just another brick in the wall of growing failures and gross negligence in their case.”
In this Jan. 30, 2023, file photo, students return to Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia.
Billy Schuerman/The Virginian-Pilot/Tribune News Service via Getty Images, FILE
Parker is accused of ignoring at least three warnings from teachers that the 6-year-old might be carrying a gun, telling them he “had small pockets,” suggesting he would not be able to hiding a weapon, according to the lawsuit.
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Just an hour before the shooting, a school counselor asked Parker to check if the boy had a gun, but she refused to do so, according to the lawsuit.
An attorney representing Parker did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
ABC affiliate WVEC in Richmond, Virginia, could not reach Parker for comment at an address listed as his home in court records.
The 6-year-old’s mother, Deja Taylor, was sentenced in November to 21 months in federal prison on gun and drug charges. She was also sentenced in December to two years in prison for child neglect related to the shooting.
Zwerner said she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression and still has nightmares about the incident.
“One of the great moments that sticks out in my mind, more than other moments, is the look on the student’s face when he pulled the gun,” Zwerner said. “It’s a haunting look.”
ABC News
