Ex-assistant principal ‘ignored warnings that child who shot teacher had a gun’
A former assistant principal at an elementary school who ignored warnings that a six-year-old was seen with a gun before they shot their teacher has been charged with felony child neglect.
A special grand jury found that Ebony Parker showed a reckless disregard for the lives of students at Virginia’s Richneck Elementary School on Jan 6 last year.
The 39-year-old was indicted on eight felony charges, each of which carry a maximum sentence of five years.
The teacher shot by the young boy has also launched a $40 million (£31.5 million) negligence lawsuit against Ms Parker and other school officials.
Abby Zwerner accused Ms Parker of ignoring her multiple warnings that the boy, named John Doe in the proceedings, had the gun in his possession and was in a “violent mood” that day.
Criminal charges against school officials following shootings are rare and the charges against Ms Parker come as a new trend emerges in which adults are being held accountable in cases of gun violence involving children.
The indictment against Ms Parker was revealed on the same day that two parents in Michigan were sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison for failing to prevent their son from carrying out the state’s deadliest school shooting in history.
James and Jennifer Crumbley, who have already been detained for two years, are the first parents to be held criminally responsible for a mass school shooting committed by their child.
In Virginia, Ms Zwerner was seriously injured when the boy pulled out a gun during afternoon class, with the bullet passing through her hand and hitting her chest.
According to Newport police, the student who shot Ms Zwerner took his mother’s handgun from on top of a dresser in his home and brought the weapon to school hidden in his backpack.
Ms Zwerner’s lawsuit said that the boy had “a history of random violence”, including attacks on students and teachers.
The lawsuit claims that Ms Parker ignored a series of warnings from school employees before the gun was fired.
During morning recess, Ms Zwerner voiced her suspicions that the boy was carrying a gun to two other members of staff.
A search of his backpack did not discover the weapon, but Ms Parker was told that the boy had claimed to have a gun and Ms Zwerner had seen him remove something from the bag.
Ms Parker “responded that John Doe’s pockets were too small to hold a handgun and did nothing”, the lawsuit said.
Another teacher told Ms Parker that another child claimed to have seen the gun about an hour later, but Ms Parker “took no further action”.
She forbade school employees from searching the boy further. An hour later, Ms Zwerner was shot.
Court documents filed against Ms Parker allege that she “did commit a wilful act or omission in the care of such students, in a manner so gross, wanton and culpable as to show a reckless disregard for human life”.
John J Donohue III, a professor at Stanford Law School, told The New York Times that the charges against Ms Parker and the Michigan parents are a “new avenue” being pursued by prosecutors to curtail gun violence.
“The realisation is being made that there are individuals who could and should intervene to stop gun violence and have not in the past,” he said, adding that proceedings “get people’s attention”.
