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New video reveals moments after student shoots teacher
The footage, released this week, shows police entering a classroom at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News on Jan. 6, 2023, where a reading specialist was restraining the young student.
The boy had just shot first-grade teacher Abigail Zwerner, striking her in the hand and chest. The bullet remains lodged in her chest despite multiple surgeries.
The Student Admitted Taking His Mother's Gun
In the video, the child tells responding officers that he took the gun from his mother.
When asked where the weapon was, he points officers toward it. A reading specialist tells police that the child had admitted he had a gun and that there was one bullet.
The child also tells officers, “My mom had that. I stole that from my mom.”
According to previous court testimony, the handgun had been taken from the purse of his mother, Deja Taylor.
A Disturbing Exchange With Police
The footage shows the boy repeatedly cursing and challenging police officers and the teacher who was holding him.
At one point, an officer asks where the weapon is. The child responds with profanity. He later tells officers that he does not care if they call for backup or if he goes to jail.
The child also appears to strike the reading specialist while she is restraining him, although part of that moment is obscured by the body camera. An officer eventually takes the boy from the teacher and escorts him from the classroom.
Because the student was only 6 years old, he was too young to be criminally charged under Virginia law.
Teachers Had Raised Concerns Before the Shooting
The newly released footage also puts renewed attention on warnings made before the shooting.
The reading specialist seen in the video tells officers that she had previously informed an assistant principal about an earlier threat involving the child.
At Zwerner's subsequent civil trial, evidence showed that school officials had been warned about the student's behavior and concerns that he had a gun. A jury later found former assistant principal Ebony Parker grossly negligent and awarded Zwerner $10 million in damages.
Parker's later criminal child-neglect case was dismissed.
Zwerner's Long Road to Recovery
Zwerner survived the shooting but suffered serious physical and emotional injuries.
The bullet passed through her hand before entering her chest. Doctors ultimately determined that removing the bullet could be more dangerous than leaving it in place.
Zwerner filed a lawsuit against Parker in 2023, describing the physical pain and mental anguish caused by the shooting. She is no longer teaching.
The Student's Mother Served Prison Time
The child's mother, Deja Taylor, faced criminal charges following the shooting.
Taylor pleaded guilty to felony child neglect in Virginia and was also sentenced on federal firearm-related charges. Her sentences totaled nearly four years in prison and were served consecutively.
The child is now in the care of his great-grandfather and attends another school.
Why the Video Was Released Now
The body-camera footage had previously been used as evidence in court but remained sealed from the public.
The Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press petitioned to have the footage unsealed, arguing that keeping it from the public raised First Amendment concerns. A judge ultimately ordered its release, with the child's face blurred because he was a minor.
The video offers a new look at a shooting that already prompted major questions about school safety, warning signs and access to firearms.
For Zwerner, however, the consequences have never been just a news story. More than three years later, she continues to live with the physical injuries and lasting trauma from a shooting that she survived.
Source: NBC News
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