The assistant principal of a Virginia elementary school where a 6-year-old student shot his teacher in 2023 “did nothing” about the fact he had a gun, despite receiving repeated warnings from colleagues, a prosecutor said in court Tuesday.
Before the January 2023 shooting at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, school employees told Ebony Parker they believed the student had a gun in his backpack, but she dismissed their concerns, said special prosecutor Josh Jenkins. Parker is now facing eight counts of felony child neglect for her role in the incident, which wounded first grade teacher Abby Zwerner.
During the trial’s opening statements, Jenkins said Parker told the employees who approached her about the child’s gun that his mother would be arriving soon to pick him up for the day.
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But Parker’s attorney, Curtis Rogers, said teachers should have done something if they believed a gun was present, saying they should have at least separated the child from about 19 other students in the classroom.
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Rogers said the prosecution must prove Parker’s actions showed a reckless disregard for human life. Instead, Rogers placed the blame on Zwerner and others who had witnessed the child’s movements long before the shooting.
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School policy at the time required crisis situations to be reported to an administrator who is required to take action, Jenkins said. A school counselor even asked for permission to search the child but Parker denied the request because searches could only be conducted by an administrator or a security officer. The school’s security officer was away at another school at the time.
That left Parker and the school’s principal with the authority to act, but the principal knew nothing about the threat because Parker did not tell her about it, Jenkins said.
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