A Virginia circuit court judge has thrown out all criminal charges against a former school administrator who faced accusations of failing to respond to warnings before a 6-year-old student opened fire on his teacher.
Circuit Judge Rebecca Robinson in Newport News, Virginia, granted a defense motion Thursday to dismiss the case against Ebony Parker on the trial’s fourth day. Parker had been facing eight felony child neglect charges.
“The court is of the legal opinion that this is not a crime,” Robinson stated.
The former assistant principal’s charges stemmed from the January 2023 shooting incident at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, where teacher Abby Zwerner was wounded. Prosecutors had filed separate charges for each bullet in the weapon the child brought to Zwerner’s classroom. A conviction on each count could have resulted in up to five years behind bars.
Special prosecutor Josh Jenkins had not responded to requests for comment by Thursday evening.
Defense lawyer Curtis Rogers argued to the court that Parker’s conduct during the shooting day “wasn’t an act of neglect.”
“Her actions in no way indicated that she believed there was a firearm in the possession” of the child, Rogers stated.
Fellow defense counsel Stephen Teague spoke with reporters after court proceedings, saying “we believe that the right outcome was reached and we’re thrilled for Dr. Parker. It was a great relief for her and we’re just happy that we were part of her journey.”
Parker did not take the witness stand during proceedings. However, on Wednesday, jurors viewed a recorded interview Parker gave to a school district human resources official three days following the shooting.
In that interview, Parker acknowledged receiving reports about the student possibly having a weapon in his backpack, but explained she couldn’t leave her office because of ongoing testing. A reading specialist who initially raised the concerns then examined the backpack but found no weapon, Parker explained.
Parker indicated the student’s mother was expected to arrive and would check through his remaining items.
During her earlier testimony, Zwerner described how the student wore an oversized jacket during playground recess and kept his hands in his pockets throughout the break. Zwerner said she texted this observation to the reading specialist, who had received earlier tips from other students about the gun and had alerted Parker.
Following recess, the student kept the jacket on in the classroom, where Zwerner was shot while at a reading table. Zwerner remained hospitalized for nearly two weeks, underwent six surgical procedures, and lost full function in her left hand. A bullet came close to striking her heart and remains lodged in her chest.
Legal experts note that criminal prosecutions of school officials following campus shootings are uncommon. The incident shocked the military shipbuilding community and the nation, raising questions about how such a young child obtained access to a firearm and shot his educator.
In November, a jury granted Zwerner $10 million in a civil lawsuit, where Parker, who no longer works at the school, was the sole defendant.
The student’s mother received nearly four years in prison for felony child neglect and federal weapons violations.
