A special grand jury in Virginia this week indicted on child abuse charges the former assistant principal of an elementary school where a 6-year-old boy shot his teacher last year and issued a scathing report detailing security and administrative failures at the school leading up to the shooting.
The grand jury indicted Dr. Ebony Parker on eight counts of child abuse, one for each of the eight bullets in the boy’s gun “that endangered all 15 students in Abby Zwerner’s 1st grade classroom” on January 6, 2023, WAVY reported.
The report, made public on Wednesday, said that Parker took no action despite receiving four reports of a potentially dangerous threat involving the boy.
Full Report 2024 Opt by kc wildmoon on Scribd
Zwerner went to Parker’s office at lunch after the boy threatened to beat up a kindergarten student, the report said, but Parker did not acknowledge the teacher’s presence in the office. Shortly afterward, Parker took no action when a teacher told her that two students had said the boy had a gun in his backpack, according to the report.
Minutes later, Zwerner saw the boy put on an oversized gray hoodie and rummage through his backpack before putting his hands in his pockets. Zwerner told the teacher who had reported the possible gun in the backpack, who then looked inside the pack but found no gun. She then reported what Zwerner had seen and her own search of the backpack to Parker, who responded that the boy had “little pockets” and took no action.
At recess that afternoon, the boy was seen going behind a rock with a friend frequently. After recess, a teacher asked the friend what was going on.
“The friend was visibly scared and shaking,” the report said. “He said the child would hurt him if he told her. She encouraged him to tell her. He said that the child had a gun and that the child had showed him the bullets.”
Parker was told about that incident twice and both times refused to take any action. That left the boy in his classroom with 15 other students and his teacher.
“At 1:58 p.m. Ms. Zwerner was sitting at the reading table,” the report says. “She saw the child turn his whole body towards her. The child, for the first time since before recess, removed his hand from his pocket holding a firearm. He pointed it directly at Ms. Zwerner and, at less than six feet away, pulled the trigger and shot Ms. Zwerner.”
At that point, the firearm jammed and the boy was unable to fire it again.
Parker locked herself inside her office when she learned someone had been shot and did not unlock the door until police arrived.
The report goes on to detail missing disciplinary files about the child who shot Zwerner, missed opportunities to deal with behavioral issues, and information kept from other parents as well as systemic security issues that were known and unaddressed during the school year.
The report notes changes made at the school since the shooting as well as recommendations for further changes.
Zwerner has a filed a $40 million lawsuit against the school district, as CrimeOnline reported. Her attorney said the report contained new information as well as confirmation of information she already new.
“Perhaps the most troubling is what the report lays out a concerning trail of evidence that apparently shows efforts by the school division to downplay disciplinary records prior to the shooting even taking place, then hide them afterwards,” said Diane Toscano. “If the citizen panel believes that this may have been a cover up, which is their words, I have no reason to doubt them.”
The child who shot Zwerner is not facing any charges because of his age. His mother pleaded guilty to federal gun charges and state neglect charges last year and is serving five years in prison, with three years suspended, followed by conditional probation.
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[Featured image: Abby Zwerner/GoFundMe]
