Mother of six-year-old boy who shot teacher in Virginia is to face federal gun and drug charges

The mother of the six-year-old accused of shooting his teacher in January faces a federal gun and drug charge.

Deja Taylor’s son shot and wounded his first-grade teacher after he brought a gun to class at Richneck Elementary School in Virginia on Jan. 6.

She has now been charged with filing false gun paperwork information after allegedly lying about “unlawful” use of marijuana during the purchase. Her lawyer said she intends to plead guilty.

Taylor has already been charged with child neglect, misdemeanor and felony charges of recklessly leaving a firearm to endanger a child.

The teacher, Abby Zwerner, was shot at close range and the bullet passed through her hand and into her chest. She has now sued the school and the Newport News Public Schools board for $40 million.

The boy opened fire on his first-grade teacher Abby Zwerner at Richneck Elementary School on Jan. 6, and she has filed a $40 million lawsuit against the school and the district

Details of the new charges are detailed in federal documents stating that Taylor purchased the gun on or about July 19, 2022, from a store in Grafton, Virginia. WTKR reported.

Marijuana is legal in Virginia, but charges have been filed because it remains a controlled substance at the federal level. Gun buyers are asked if they are using or addicted to a controlled substance at the time of purchase.

The boy was not charged in the incident because of his age.

Zwerner was shot once, but the bullet penetrated her hand and into her chest, where fragments remain.

Taylor’s lawyer, Jimmy Ellenson, told him News 3 that she will plead guilty to the new charges after reaching an “agreement and resolution which I believe will be satisfactory to all parties.”

“She has been cooperative from day one,” he said.

Taylor’s trial on the first charge is scheduled for August, and another appearance on the new charge is expected within weeks.

Zwerner said in March that she “thought she was going to die” and that she will “never forget” the expression on the boy’s face.

Zwerner said she still “has no idea” about the shooting, but that her first thought when he pulled out his gun was to make sure the other kids in the class were safe.

She said, “Some days I can’t get out of bed, then some days are better than others when I can make my appointments. I try to stay positive and look positively at what happened.

“There are things I’ll never forget and I’ll just never forget. The look on his face as he pointed the gun at me. It has changed me. It has changed my life. You can’t make sense of it. I’m not sure when the shock will ever wear off.’

The 25-year-old first-grade teacher survived the attack. She was shot at close range and the bullet passed through her hand and into her chest

Taylor described her son as a “great” and “energetic kid” and claimed he doesn’t talk about the incident, but talks about the “day or two days before.”

Taylor said in May that her child always “liked 25-year-old Zwerner a lot,” but complained in the week before the incident that she “didn’t listen to him.”

Zwerner’s lawsuit said the boy had a “record of random violence” and that he “attacked both students and teachers.”

Taylor said her son was suspended the week before the shooting for “accidentally” knocking the phone out of his teacher’s hand.

She described her son as a “great” and “energetic boy” and claimed he doesn’t talk about the incident, but talks about the “day or two days before.”

She said, “He has ADHD. Some people have it lightly. He’s off the wall. Never sit still. He had taken up medicine and he was achieving his academic goals.

“He actually really liked her. I will say he came home that week and talked a lot about how he felt like he was being ignored.

“He’d come home and say, ‘Mom, I don’t think she listened to me. I didn’t like that.’

“Eventually he got suspended the next day because he was in class, he tried to tell her something and she asked him to sit down again.

He threw his arms up and said fine. When he raised his arms, he accidentally knocked the phone out of her hand. He’s been suspended for that.’