A former Virginia elementary school assistant principal is headed to court in a case that stunned the nation after a 6-year-old boy allegedly brought a loaded gun to class — and shot his first-grade teacher.
Ebony Parker, once an assistant principal at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, faces eight felony child neglect charges tied to the shocking January 2023 classroom shooting of teacher Abby Zwerner.
Prosecutors say each charge represents one of the eight bullets loaded into the gun the child carried into school.
If convicted, Parker could face decades behind bars.
Court documents accuse Parker of showing a “reckless disregard for human life” by allegedly ignoring repeated warnings from school staff that the child had a gun in his backpack before the shooting erupted.
The explosive trial begins Monday in Newport News.
Zwerner, a beloved first-grade teacher, was sitting at a reading table when the child allegedly pulled the trigger. The bullet ripped through her hand and chest, narrowly missing her heart.
She survived — but only after nearly two weeks in the hospital and six surgeries. Doctors say she still does not have full use of her left hand, and the bullet remains lodged in her chest.
Despite her devastating injuries, Zwerner managed to usher terrified students out of the classroom before collapsing in the school office.
According to testimony and lawsuits, multiple school employees warned Parker about the weapon hours before the shooting.
One reading specialist reportedly alerted administrators after students claimed the boy had a gun. Attorneys for Zwerner say Parker failed to search the child or call police despite the alarming reports.
Last year, a jury sided with Zwerner in a bombshell civil lawsuit, awarding her $10 million in damages after concluding Parker ignored the danger.
Parker was the only defendant remaining in the lawsuit after a judge dismissed the school superintendent and principal.
The child’s mother has already been sentenced to nearly four years in prison on child neglect and federal gun charges.
Investigators say the boy later told authorities he climbed onto a dresser to grab the firearm from his mother’s purse before taking it to school.
Now, all eyes are on the courtroom as prosecutors attempt to prove school officials could have stopped one of the most shocking classroom shootings in U.S. history — if someone had acted in time.