- Abby Zwerner, 25, suffered life-threatening injuries after she was shot with a handgun at Richneck Elementary School in the city of Newport News
The mother of a boy who shot his teacher in a classroom before uttering 12 chilling words has pleaded guilty to charges related to the attack, that sent shockwaves through a community.
Deja Taylor was charged in April with felony child neglect and a misdemeanour count of reckless storing of a firearm.
She pleaded guilty yesterday to a charge of felony child neglect in court in Newport News today. Taylor is due to be sentenced on October 27.
The shocking incident in January saw Virginia school teacher Abby Zwerner shot as she taught at a reading table during a first-grade lessonan attack.
She was hit in the chest and hand and required multiple surgeries during her two weeks in hospital.
Moments after the shooting, according to search warrants filed in the case, the child uttered 12 chilling words.
He told a reading specialist who restrained him: ‘I shot that (expletive) dead,’ and ‘I got my mom’s gun last night.’
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Prosecutors agreed to drop the misdemeanour charge of reckless storage of a firearm against Deja Taylor.
As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors said they will not seek a sentence that is longer than state sentencing guidelines, which call for six months in jail or prison.
A judge will have full discretion and will ultimately decide the length of Taylor’s sentence.
Taylor told ABC’s Good Morning America in May that she feels responsible and apologized to Zwerner.
‘That is my son, so I am, as a parent, obviously willing to take responsibility for him because he can’t take responsibility for himself,’ Taylor said.
‘I just truly would like to apologise,’ Taylor added on the show. Her lawyer James Ellenson said in April Taylor’s son has attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and was under a care plan that included a family member accompanying him to class every day.
Ellenson said the shooting took place during the first week a parent was not present with him in class.
The recent change that saw the boy left on his own with just the other students and Zwerner occurred because he had recently improved in lessons and was taking new medication, Ellenson said. The boy is now in the care of his great-grandfather.
