A former Virginia elementary school administrator was indicted last month and charged with eight felony counts after a 6-year-old student brought a gun to school and shot his teacher last year.
Ebony Parker, the former assistant principal at Richneck Elementary in Newport News, was indicted and charged with child abuse and disregard for life by a Special Grand Jury on March 11, according to recently released court records.
Each felony count in Virginia carries a sentence of up to five years in prison.
Parker and her attorney Curtis Rogers have not responded to CNN’s requests for comment.
Parker resigned about three weeks after teacher Abigail Zwerner was shot by one of her first-grade students, CNN previously reported.
Zwerner survived the shooting.
In a $40 million lawsuit against the school board and administrators filed late last year, Zwerner’s attorney Diane Toscano alleges that concerned teachers and employees alerted administrators three times on the day of the shooting that the student had a gun and was threatening people.
CNN has reached out to the office of Newport News Commonwealth Attorney Howard Gwynn for comment.
Following the incident where a 6-year-old student brought a gun to school and shot his teacher the previous year, a former elementary school administrator in Virginia was indicted last month on eight felony counts.
According to recently made public court documents, Ebony Parker, the former assistant principal at Richneck Elementary in Newport News, was charged on March 11 by a Special Grand Jury with child abuse and disregard for life.
In court documents obtained by CNN, Parker was found to have committed “a willful act or omission in the care of such students, in a manner so gross, wanton, and culpable as to show a reckless disregard for human life.” Parker was in charge of the students’ well-being at Richneck Elementary. In Virginia, there is a five-year maximum prison sentence for each felony count.
CNN has reached out to Parker and her lawyer Curtis Rogers for comment, but they have not replied.
About three weeks after one of her first-grade students shot teacher Abigail Zwerner, Parker resigned, according to a prior CNN report. Zwerner made it through the gunfire.
On behalf of the first-grade teacher, attorneys Diane Toscano, Kevin Biniazan, and Jeffrey Breit released a statement on Tuesday that read, “These charges are very serious and underscore the failure of the school district to act to prevent the tragic shooting of Abby Zwerner.”. “The school board keeps denying that they owe Abby anything, and this indictment is just one more example of their egregious negligence and growing list of failings. “.
According to Zwerner’s lawyer, the school and its officials could have prevented the shooting if they had taken appropriate action. Attorney Diane Toscano for Zwerner claims in a $40 million lawsuit against the school board and administrators that it was made three times on the day of the shooting because worried teachers and staff told administrators that the student was armed and threatening people. The lawsuit was filed late last year.
For comment, CNN has contacted the Newport News Commonwealth Attorney Howard Gwynn’s office.
