NEWPORT NEWS, VA — A former assistant principal faces eight felony child abuse charges Monday in a criminal trial stemming from a 2023 incident in which a 6-year-old student shot his first-grade teacher at Richneck Elementary School.
Ebony Parker is accused of ignoring multiple warnings that the child had brought a loaded gun to school on January 6, 2023, before the boy shot teacher Abigail Zwerner in the hand and chest. The criminal case represents a rare prosecution of a school official following a school shooting, legal experts say. Parker faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted on all counts, with each charge carrying a maximum five-year sentence. Last November, a civil jury awarded Zwerner $10 million after finding Parker liable for failing to act on repeated warnings about the weapon.
Prosecutors allege Parker committed “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 court documents. The eight charges correspond to each bullet in the gun the student brought to Zwerner’s classroom. Parker has pleaded not guilty to all charges. The trial, scheduled to last three days, will focus on whether Parker failed to protect the 15 children, ages 6 and 7, in Zwerner’s class after receiving warnings about the weapon. “A gun changes everything. You stop and you investigate,” Zwerner’s attorney Kevin Biniazan said during the civil trial. “You get to the bottom of that backpack. You get to the bottom of his pockets, whatever it is.”
Multiple school staff members and students reported concerns about the 6-year-old having a gun on the day of the shooting, according to testimony from the civil trial. Another student saw the boy take the gun out of his pocket on the playground and reported it to a teacher, Zwerner’s attorneys said. When the teacher requested to search the child’s person, “the assistant principal said no,” according to court filings. Two Richneck teachers testified they informed Parker that students had told them the boy had a gun in his backpack. Zwerner first learned about the gun prior to class recess from a reading specialist who had been tipped off by students. The shooting occurred several hours later as Zwerner sat at a reading table in her classroom. Despite being shot, Zwerner managed to evacuate her students from the classroom before eventually passing out in the school office.
The shooting sent shock waves through Newport News, a military shipbuilding community, and raised questions nationwide about how such a young child could access a firearm and bring it to school. The boy had climbed to the top of a dresser to retrieve the gun from his mother’s purse, authorities said. Zwerner spent nearly two weeks in the hospital, required six surgeries, and does not have full use of her left hand. A bullet narrowly missed her heart and remains in her chest. She testified during the civil trial that she can’t shake the boy’s “blank look” as he aimed at her and thought she was going to die. “I thought I was on my way to heaven or in heaven,” Zwerner said. A psychiatrist testified that she suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder after the shooting. The incident led to significant turnover in school leadership, with Parker resigning two weeks after the shooting, the principal being reassigned, and the school board voting out the superintendent.
The boy’s mother, Deja Taylor, was sentenced to nearly four years in prison on state and federal charges related to the incident. She pleaded guilty to a state charge of felony child neglect and received a two-year sentence, plus 21 months on a federal charge for using marijuana while owning a gun. Taylor was released from state custody to community supervision on May 13, according to the Virginia Department of Corrections. Prosecutors said the boy, who has “extreme emotional issues,” will not be criminally charged. Parker’s case is part of a growing trend of holding adults accountable for juvenile violence, following recent convictions of parents in Michigan and Georgia school shooting cases. However, Parker appears to be the first educator to face criminal trial in such circumstances, legal experts noted.
During the civil trial, Parker’s defense argued the shooting was unforeseeable and that school safety is a shared responsibility among all staff members. “It was a tragedy that, until that day, was unprecedented. It was unthinkable and it was unforeseeable,” defense attorney Sandra Douglas told jurors. The defense called an expert in education administration who testified that Parker did not breach professional standards or act with indifference. Amy Klinger, the expert witness, said “no one is the sole person responsible for school safety.” However, the civil jury rejected those arguments and found Parker liable for ignoring clear warnings. The criminal trial will operate under a higher standard of proof, requiring prosecutors to prove their case “beyond a reasonable doubt” rather than the civil standard of “preponderance of the evidence.” Zwerner is scheduled to testify in the criminal case, according to court records.
The outcome of Parker’s criminal trial could affect Zwerner’s $10 million civil award, which would be paid by the Virginia Risk Sharing Association, an insurance pool that includes the Newport News School Board. If Parker is convicted of crimes related to the shooting, insurers could argue they should not be required to pay the settlement. Parker has filed an appeal of the civil verdict. The criminal trial begins Monday in Newport News Circuit Court, with jury selection and opening arguments expected to launch the three-day proceeding that will determine whether Parker bears criminal responsibility for the unprecedented shooting.
She should be convinced and sent to prison for long timw!