The Virginia mother of a 6-year-old child who shot and wounded his teacher earlier this year was arrested on Thursday in connection with the incident, according to authorities.
Deja Nicole Taylor turned herself in at the Newport News City Jail for outstanding warrants related to the Jan. 6 shooting at Richneck Elementary, the Newport News Police Department announced in a press release.
Police formally arrested Taylor on charges of child neglect and recklessly leaving a loaded firearm to endanger a child, according to the brief statement. The department also provided a booking photo of the 25-year-old woman.
James Ellenson, Taylor’s attorney, said her client was released from custody after posting a $5,000 bond and has a status hearing scheduled on Friday in Newport News Circuit Court.
“She is nervous and scared because she has never been charged before, but holding up well,” Ellenson said in an email on Thursday.
Shooting Details
On Jan. 6, 25-year-old teacher Abigail Zwerner was wounded by a first-grade student in her classroom at Richneck Elementary School after school officials received warnings that the boy had a gun at school. Officials said that the child brought a gun in his backpack and shot Zwerner in the chest and hand.
Zwerner’s attorneys alleged the defendants knew that the boy “had a history of random violence” and had “strangled and choked” his kindergarten teacher a year prior to the January incident.
The city prosecutor’s office said this week that it is investigating whether the “actions or omissions” of any school employees could lead to criminal charges.
Boy Won’t Face Charges
In March, Gwynn said his office would not charge the 6-year-old boy because he is too young to understand the charges against him. The “prospect that a 6-year-old can stand trial is problematic” because the boy would not be able to understand the legal system, he told NBC News last month.Weeks after the shooting, Taylor’s family also released a statement saying the child “suffers from an acute disability and was under a care plan at the school that included his mother or father attending school with him and accompanying him to class every day … we will regret our absence on this day for the rest of our lives.”
In response to Monday’s indictment, Zwerner’s lawyer told news outlets that “there were failures in accountability at multiple levels that led to Abby being shot and almost killed,” adding: “Today’s announcement addresses but one of those failures. It has been three months of investigation and still so many unanswered questions remain.”
Ellenson, meanwhile, previously told news outlets that the gun was secured with a lock and on a high shelf. The attorney also noted her client has no criminal record.
The felony neglect charge filed against the boy’s mother is punishable by up to five years in prison. The misdemeanor charge of recklessly storing a firearm is punishable by up to one year in jail.
