The lawsuit is against the school district and specific school administrators, not the parents. But still, she should get every penny.
"The injured educator’s complaint, filed in the Newport News Circuit Court, says Richneck Assistant Principal Ebony Parker chose to “breach her assumed duty” to protect Zwerner, “despite multiple reports that a firearm was on school property and likely in possession of a violent individual.”
Also named as defendants are the Newport News School Board, former schools Superintendent George Parker III, whom the board voted to remove “without cause,” and Richneck principal Briana Foster Newton, who was transferred to a different role within the district."
From what I have read, this kid had severe emotional and behavioral issues for quite a while- “Last week, the family of the young boy said he suffered from an “acute disability” and rarely attended school without one of his parents being present. The day of the shooting he had attended school alone.”
The 20-page lawsuit describes the boy’s past behavior in disturbing detail.
It also claims that his parents would not allow him to attend classes with other special needs kids, despite claiming in the immediate aftermath of the shooting that he has an ‘acute disability’.
He was so troublesome that he’d been removed from the school a year earlier after trying to choke a different teacher, and was supposed to be chaperoned by a parent every day.
They were present because they were required to be due to his past behavior. This teacher is going to win this and win it big.
On January 6, he was dropped off at the school by his mother. He told other children that morning that he had a firearm in his backpack and staff were also told about it.
Rather than remove him from any classes, the school’s administrators allowed him to be around other children and teachers.
Update: The mother of a 6-year-old boy who shot a teacher at a Virginia school in January has been charged criminally in connection with the case, and a special grand jury will be convened to explore others’ conduct, authorities said Monday. Deja Taylor, 25, of Newport News, is facing one felony count of child neglect and one misdemeanor count of recklessly storing a firearm so a child could gain access to it. The weapon the boy used belonged to Taylor, authorities have said. If convicted, Taylor faces up to five years in prison on the felony and up to a one-year sentence on the misdemeanor.
Sad tale- she was 19 when she had this very troubled child, and was obviously unable to supervise him at age 26.
“It is a case that underscores the inherently dangerous nature and circumstances that arise from the caustic cocktail of mixing consistent and prolonged controlled substance use with a lethal firearm.”
The part where the kid got hold of a firearm that he should not have had access to is kind of a given, isn’t it?
And furthermore: “Ms. Taylor is deeply saddened, extremely despondent, and completely remorseful for the unintended consequences and mistakes that led to this horrible shooting,” her attorneys wrote.
I don’t understand your position. Do you not think this parent neglected her responsibilities as a gun owner with a child in the home? Then who is responsible? The 6 year old?
Yes … and that has nothing to do with the pending charges regarding her not securing the gun to prevent access to it by her son. The charges she pled guilty to have nothing to do with her parenting skills or lack thereof.
That’s the federal charge, with the state case coming up. She’s going to jail for YEARS, and who knows what will happen to that kid- he sounds so disordered that I doubt a relative would take him.
Maybe one of the lawyers here (@Safiel@TheDoctorIsIn@toreyj01) could explain why that was the federal charge. Maybe there just isn’t a federal law that exactly covers this situation.
She’s headed to jail, though, so mission accomplished.
NYTimes says : Although recreational marijuana is allowed in Virginia, federal laws prohibit addicted or “unlawful” drug users from owning a gun. So it sounds like that was the only federal law that applied here.
“In August, Ms. Taylor pleaded guilty to a state charge of felony child neglect. Her sentencing in that case is scheduled for December.. So that one is already decided- God only knows why it takes so long.”
“The child, now 7, who will be living with his great-grandfather while his mother serves her prison sentence, will not be charged.” Well that’s just awesome. What could go wrong?
