By Bernd Debusmann Jr, BBC News
Police tape hangs from a sign post outside Richneck Elementary School following a shooting on 7 January 2023 in Newport News, Virginia. Photo: Jay Paul/Getty Images/AFP
A former Virginia school official is facing criminal neglect charges in connection with an incident last year in which a six-year-old shot a teacher.
A special grand jury found that former assistant principal Ebony Parker endangered students by ignoring warnings that the child had a gun.
Each of the eight counts is punishable by five years in prison.
Teacher Abigail Zwerner was seriously wounded in the shooting and had multiple surgeries.
In a $40 million (NZD$65.9m) lawsuit against Parker filed after the shooting, Zwerner claimed that Parker ignored at least three warnings that the child had a gun in school on the day of the January 2023 incident, which took place in the city of Newport News.
In one instance outlined in the lawsuit, Zwerner's lawyers said that she told Parker that the child was in a "violent mood" and had made threats against another child.
Parker allegedly "had no response" and refused to "even look up" when concerns about the child were brought to her.
Additionally, Parker is accused of ignoring warnings from other staff that the young boy may have brought a gun to school, as well as of rebuffing a request to search his bag.
Approximately 45 minutes later, the child fired a single shot at Zwerner as she was teaching her first-grade class. The bullet went through her hand and chest.
The indictment, filed on Tuesday, accuses Parker of committing "a wilful act or omission in the care" of students at Richneck Elementary School that was "so gross, wanton, and culpable as to show a reckless disregard for human life".
In a statement quoted by the Washington Post, Zwerner's attorneys said that "these charges are very serious and underscore the failure of the school district to act to prevent the tragic shooting".
While an arrest warrant for Parker was issued on Tuesday morning, she had not yet been arrested, according to local media reports.
Her attorneys have yet to comment on the indictment.
The child's mother, 26-year-old Deja Nicole Taylor, was charged a year ago with felony child neglect after the child took her gun to school.
She pleaded guilty and was sentenced in December to two years on the state charges, in addition to 21 months on federal gun charges for lying about drug use on the form required to obtain the weapon.
The boy is reportedly in the care of a relative and enrolled at a different school.
- This story was originally published by the BBC.
