Mom of 6-year-old who shot Virginia teacher indicted by grand jury

The mom of a 6-year-old Virginia boy who shot his first-grade teacher earlier this year was indicted by a grand jury in connection to the shooting, the Newport News Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office announced on Monday. 

Deja Nicole Taylor, 25, was charged with felony child neglect and a misdemeanor count of leaving a loaded firearm as to endanger a child, according to prosecutors. The boy used his mother’s 9mm Taurus pistol, which was purchased legally. 

"Every criminal case is unique in its facts, and these facts support these charges, but our investigation into the shooting continues," Commonwealth's Attorney Howard Gwynn said in a statement after the Attorney’s Office conducted an investigation into the incident. 

In January, the 6-year-old shot his 25-year-old first-grade teacher, Abby Zwerner, at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia as she was sitting at a reading table in her classroom. Zwerner was shot in the hand and chest. She spent around two weeks in the hospital and required four surgeries. 

The boy was not criminally charged because he is too young to understand the legal system, said Newport News prosecutor Howard Gwynn. 

Last week, Zwerner filed a lawsuit seeking $40 million in damages from school officials, accusing them of gross negligence and ignoring warnings of the boy's “violent mood” the day of the shooting. 

According to Zwerner’s attorneys, the Newport News School Board—the defendants in the case—knew the boy "had a history of random violence" both at school and home. The year before the shooting, the boy had even “strangled and choked” his kindergarten teacher. 

 "There were failures in accountability at multiple levels that led to Abby being shot and almost killed. Today's announcement addresses but one of those failures. It has been three months of investigation and still so many unanswered questions remain," said Zwerner’s lawyer, Diane Toscano. 

"Our lawsuit makes clear that we believe the school division violated state law, and we are pursuing this in civil court," Toscano continued. "We will not allow school leaders to escape accountability for their role in this tragedy."