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The mother of a Virginia elementary school student who shot and critically injured his teacher inside her classroom pleaded guilty to felony child neglect Tuesday.
The January shooting of teacher Abby Zwerner, 25, by the first grader, 6, shocked the world and sparked a new national conversation about kids and guns in schools. The child’s mother, Deja Taylor, faces up to six months in prison as part of a plea deal in which prosecutors agreed to drop a misdemeanor charge of reckless storage of a firearm, court records show.
Taylor previously pleaded guilty in a related federal prosecution for possessing marijuana while owning a handgun. She said in interviews that her son has been diagnosed with ADHD, and that the 9mm handgun was locked up. Investigators reported they found no evidence of the gun being safely stored.
In May, Taylor apologized to Zwerner, who is suing the Newport News school district for $40 million. The boy is too young to prosecute under Virginia law.
Taylor’s attorney said she was suffering following miscarriages and domestic abuse, and that he hoped the court would take those into account as mitigating factors, along with her guilty pleas.
“Her guilty plea in both state and federal courts indicate her willingness to accept responsibility for her role in this terrible tragedy,” defense attorney James Ellenson said.
Zwerner’s civil lawsuit claims leaders at Richneck Elementary School created an unsafe work environment and ignored multiple warnings the child had a gun at school that day. Her attorney, Diane Toscano, said Zwerner is committed to finding out how Taylor’s son got the gun and why school officials didn’t stop him.
“As the criminal probe widens, our focus remains on justice for Abby and holding the school system accountable for failing to act on warnings the boy had a gun,” Toscano told USA TODAY.
In interviews, Taylor acknowledged that until a week before the shooting, the school required her son to be accompanied by a family member to classes, and that he shot Zwerner the day after returning from a suspension for breaking her cell phone.
According to court documents, the boy admitted to a teaching aide that he shot his teacher.
“While restraining him, (the child) made statements like, ‘I shot that (expletive) dead.’ And ‘I did it. I got my mom’s gun last night,’ ” the search warrant filed by police said.
In a statement, prosecutors said they could not comment on the guilty plea, given the ongoing case. Taylor is due to be sentenced Oct. 27 after a pre-sentence investigation by court officials into her background, family life, any criminal history, and potential mitigating factors.
“We are thinking of Ms. Zwerner and all the students and faculty who experienced these events as our office continues its investigation,” Newport News Commonwealth’s Attorney Howard Gwynn said. “The safety of our schools is of paramount importance, and we will continue to support the victims as they work through the effects of this incident.”
Attorneys for the school district did not return a request for comment.
Contributing: The Associated Press
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