Mother of 6-Year-Old Who Shot Virginia Teacher at School Charged in Lieu of Student Due to Age

The mother of the 6-year-old who shot his teacher, Deja Taylor has been indicted by a grand jury. Taylor has been charged with felony child neglect and misdemeanor recklessly leaving a loaded firearm so as to endanger a child. Last month Commonwealth’s Attorney Howard Gwynn shared he would not be seeking charges against the child.

Gwynn said in a statement Monday, “Every criminal case is unique in its facts, and these facts support these charges, but our investigation into the shooting continues.”

He has petitioned for a special grand jury to investigate into potential security lapses that may have led to the shooting. Gwynn shared, “If the Special Grand Jury determines that additional persons are criminally responsible under the law, it can return additional indictments.”

Taylor is making plans to turn herself in later this week according to her lawyer James Ellenson. Taylor is facing up to 6 years in prison if convicted on both charges.

Diane Toscano, the lawyer for the teacher Abigail Zwerner shared, they welcomed the charges brought against the mother but wants to see others held accountable.

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

Zwerner is suing for $40 million, alleging that administrators at Richneck Elementary ignored multiple warnings from staff and students about the gun before the shooting.