Ebony Parker, a former assistant principal, is back in court to face charges related to a 2023 incident where a six-year-old student brought a gun to Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia, and shot first-grade teacher Abigail Zwerner.
Parker is charged with eight counts of child abuse and neglect following the event on January 6, 2023. The incident resulted in Zwerner being shot in the hand and chest. Parker had resigned from her role shortly after the shooting.
In a prior civil case, a jury awarded Zwerner $10 million. The jury found Parker liable for disregarding warning signs about the child possessing a weapon. Court TV reported Parker’s appearance last year.
Parker now faces criminal charges stemming from this event. In 2024, a grand jury indicted her on eight child abuse charges, each with a potential five-year prison sentence. The 31-page grand jury report claims Parker failed to safeguard the 15 children, aged six and seven, in Zwerner’s class.
Zwerner was harmed despite multiple warnings from staff and students about the boy having a gun and being a potential threat.
Zwerner’s legal team stated another student saw the child take the gun from his pocket on the playground and alerted a teacher. When the teacher sought permission to search the child, Parker reportedly refused.
In 2023, Deja Taylor, the child’s mother, received a two-year prison sentence for felony child neglect, to be served after completing a 21-month federal sentence. Taylor pleaded guilty to using marijuana while owning a firearm, violating federal laws. She was sentenced in November 2023.
During Parker’s previous gross negligence trial, two teachers from Richneck Elementary testified about notifying school officials of the weapon in the student’s backpack. Zwerner’s attorneys argued that school protocols mandated Parker to act upon learning of a threat. Parker’s defense claimed she held no legal obligation to protect Zwerner.
This criminal trial is set to last three days. An acquittal might protect Zwerner’s $10 million civil settlement, covered by the Virginia Risk Sharing Association, an insurance group including the Newport News School Board. If Parker is convicted, insurers may argue against compensating Zwerner.
If found guilty, Parker could face up to 40 years in prison.