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On Monday, April 10, Deja Taylor, the mother of a six-year-old child who shot his teacher at a school in Virginia, was criminally charged. On January 6, 2023, Deja Taylor's six-year-old child used a firearm she had legally purchased and shot his teacher, Abby Zwerner.
While the 6-year-old is too young to face prosecution, Deja Taylor has been charged with felony child neglect and misdemeanor for recklessly leaving a loaded firearm as to endanger a child.
According to authorities, the six-year-old child had taken his mother's .9mm pistol and put it into his backpack before leaving for school. Deja Taylor and the boy's father reported that the child suffers from an 'acute disability,' which ultimately led to unusually aggressive behavior.
However, authorities believe that Taylor inadequately protected her child from the firearm, thus implicating her as the primary cause behind Abby Zwerner's shooting.
Trigger warning: This article concerns gun violence. Readers' discretion is advised.
Authorities respond to the charges against Deja Taylor
As per 13news, Virginia law states that any parent who does not safely keep firearms out of their child's reach is subject to prosecution. Deja Taylor has been accused of failing to secure the firearm used in Abby Zwerner's shooting.
According to the Daily Beast, Virginia prosecutors stated that as the investigation into the shooting of Abby Zwerner continues, new charges may arise.
The shooting reportedly resulted in Abby Zwerner sustaining serious injuries to her hand and chest. The teacher later told journalists that even two months after the incident, she still had difficulty moving her hand.
Other factors in the shooting of the Virginia teacher
In an official statement, Abby Zwerner's lawyer, Diane Toscano, also implicated the school administration's neglect in dealing with the student appropriately.
Toscano said:
"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. It has been three months of investigation and still so many unanswered questions remain."
She continued:
"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."
Toscano claimed that even though reports of an armed student emerged, the school administrators did not take them seriously enough. On the day of the shooting, Zwerner told the administrators that the student was behaving aggressively and could pose a threat. In response, a teacher allegedly searched the six-year-old's school bag but did not find a weapon.
Zwerner claimed that before she was shot, she was urged by administrators to 'wait out' the situation. She has expressed her plans to sue the school district.
