NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Nearly three years after a shocking school shooting, a former elementary school assistant principal will face a jury on criminal charges for allegedly disregarding warnings about a young student who brought a firearm to campus.
Ebony Parker’s trial begins Monday in Newport News, Virginia, where prosecutors have filed eight felony child neglect charges against her — one count for each bullet in the weapon that a 6-year-old brought into teacher Abby Zwerner’s first-grade classroom at Richneck Elementary in January 2023.
Each felony charge could result in up to five years behind bars if Parker is convicted. Court documents state the charges claim Parker “did commit a willful 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.”
Legal experts note that bringing criminal charges against school administrators following campus shootings is extremely uncommon. The incident stunned both the local military shipbuilding community and the nation, raising troubling questions about how such a young child could obtain a weapon and use it against an educator.
In November, a jury sided with Zwerner in her civil lawsuit, awarding her $10 million after determining that Parker, the former assistant principal, failed to respond to multiple warnings about the student possessing a gun.
The shooting occurred while Zwerner sat at a reading table in her classroom. She required hospitalization for almost two weeks, underwent six surgical procedures, and lost full function in her left hand. The bullet came dangerously close to her heart and still remains lodged in her chest.
Parker stood as the sole defendant in the civil case after a judge removed both the district’s superintendent and the school’s principal from the lawsuit.
According to the lawsuit, Parker had a responsibility to safeguard Zwerner and other individuals after receiving information about the weapon. Zwerner’s legal team argued that Parker took no action during the hours leading up to the shooting, despite multiple staff members informing her that the student carried a gun in his backpack.
During testimony, Zwerner stated she first learned about the weapon before recess from a reading specialist who had been alerted by other students. The shooting happened several hours afterward. Even with her injuries, Zwerner managed to evacuate her students from the classroom before eventually losing consciousness in the school office.
Court records show Zwerner is expected to provide testimony in the criminal proceedings.
The student’s mother received a sentence of nearly four years in prison on felony child neglect and federal weapons violations. Her son informed investigators he scaled a dresser to take the gun from his mother’s purse.
