The mother of the first grader who shot his teacher used marijuana and left the gun unattended

The mother of a 6-year-old who brought a gun to a Virginia school and shot his teacher in early January has been charged with federal gun offenses, reports NBC.

Photo: IStock

Abigail Zwerner was shot January 6 at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News by a first grade student. After the incident, she safely brought her class of about 20 students to safety. Bullets hit the teacher in the left arm and chest.

Deja Taylor, 25, the mother of a first grader, was charged with two counts in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia: illegal use of a controlled substance while in possession of a firearm and making false statements while purchasing a firearm.

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Earlier in April, a Newport News grand jury indicted her on felony charges of child neglect and misdemeanor charges of recklessly leaving a loaded firearm to endanger a child, prosecutor Howard Gwynn said. It is an offense under Virginia law for an adult to leave a loaded firearm in a manner that could endanger a child under the age of 14.

Taylor apologized to the teacher and said she was responsible for her son's access to the gun, though she claims she doesn't know exactly how he got it.

The trial is set for August 15.

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Taylor's attorney, James Ellenson, said on June 6 that Taylor would plead guilty to federal charges in an agreement with prosecutors.

The terms of the deal are likely to be revealed over the next two weeks, when Taylor files a guilty plea, he said.

Federal indictments allege that Taylor lied about not using marijuana when she signed a mandatory federal document last year when purchasing a Taurus 9mm pistol.

“In fact, she was then illegally using marijuana,” the statement said.

Marijuana is not legal under federal regulations, but Virginia allows its use to patients and users aged 21 and over.

Prosecutors said the boy would not be charged.

The school administration ignored the warnings

Zwerner said school officials were aware of at least three separate warnings prior to the shooting that the 6-year-old boy was believed to be in possession of a gun and was acting defiantly.

Zwerner was seriously injured. She filed a $40 million lawsuit, alleging that the school administration practically ignored numerous warnings that the boy had a gun and posed an imminent threat.

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Newport News Public Schools requested that the lawsuit be dismissed and said the teacher's claims would be better treated as a worker's compensation issue, similar to common workplace injuries. Ellenson, Taylor's attorney, said the shooting was "a tragedy for all parties, especially teacher Abby Zwerner, whom we wish a full recovery."

As ForumDaily wrote earlier:

• January 6th in Virginia A 6-year-old student shot a teacher during a quarrel. No students were injured in the incident, according to Newport News police. The shooter is under arrest.
• The incident immediately raised questions about the origins of firearms and what would happen next. We have tried to explain this in our material.
• boy family shared details about a child and a gun.

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