The 25-year-old mother of a 6-year-old boy who shot and seriously wounded a teacher at a Virginia school has been criminally charged, The Washington Post reported.
Deja Taylor is charged with one count of felony child neglect and one misdemeanor count of recklessly leaving a firearm to endanger a child. As The Post's report points out, the gun the child used in the shooting belonged to Taylor.
The Newport News Commonwealth’s Attorney also has called for a “special grand jury” to investigate any security issues that may have led to the shooting investigate as well as the conduct of administrators or others who allegedly failed to act after they were warned the boy had a gun.
On Jan. 6, the boy brought the gun to school in a backpack and shot first-grade teacher, Abigail Zwerner, as she taught a lesson at Newport News’s Richneck Elementary School.
An attorney for the boy's family says that the gun was stored with a trigger lock and it's not known how the boy accessed the gun.
“There were failures in accountability at multiple levels that led to Abby being shot and almost killed. Today’s announcement addresses but one of those failures," Zwerner said Monday. "It has been three months of investigation and still so many unanswered questions remain. Our lawsuit makes clear that we believe the school division violated state law, and we are pursuing this in civil court. We will not allow school leaders to escape accountability for their role in this tragedy.”
The boy will not be charged in the shooting and legal experts tell The Post that it's very likely he won't be due to Virginia law. The boy’s family said he has been receiving treatment at a mental health facility since the shooting.
Read the full report over at The Washington Post.
