A former administrator at an elementary school in Virginia is facing eight counts of felony child neglect more than a year after a six-year-old student shot and injured a teacher with a 9mm handgun. Ebony Parker, 39, the ex-assistant principal at Richneck Elementary School, has been charged with the neglect of students, as revealed in an indictment unsealed recently. The indictment states that Parker showed a “reckless disregard” for human life and failed in her duty to care for the students, potentially facing up to five years in prison for each count.
Following the incident, Parker resigned from her position as assistant principal and was later named in a $40 million lawsuit against Newport News Schools by the injured teacher, Abigail Zwerner. The lawsuit alleges that Parker ignored warnings about the student’s behavior on the day of the shooting, including concerns raised by Zwerner herself about the student’s “violent mood.” Despite these warnings, Parker reportedly did not take any action.
During the shooting, the student opened fire in Zwerner’s classroom, injuring her hand and chest. Despite her injuries, Zwerner managed to evacuate her students to safety before collapsing and being rushed to the hospital. The emotional trauma from the incident continues to affect her.
The lawsuit also claims that Parker dismissed concerns raised by another employee about the student’s behavior and refused a request from a guidance counselor to search the student. The student later admitted to police that he had taken his mother’s handgun from her purse, hidden it in his backpack, and carried it in his pocket during the shooting.
Parker’s attorney, Curtis Rogers, has not responded to requests for comments on the charges. Deja Taylor, the student’s mother, was previously charged in connection with the incident and was sentenced to two years after pleading guilty to child neglect charges.
The case has drawn comparisons to other school shootings, such as the Oxford High School shooting in 2021, where the parents of the shooter were sentenced for involuntary manslaughter. The incident at Richneck Elementary School has once again highlighted the need for improved school safety measures and addressing gun violence nationwide. Please rewrite the following sentence to clarify the meaning: “The problem of the issue is that it’s too difficult to solve.”
“The issue is too challenging to resolve.”
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