Mother of Virginia boy, 6, who bragged about shooting his first-grade teacher in the chest, pleads guilty to child neglect and faces six months in prison
- Deja Taylor pleaded guilty to a child neglect charge on Tuesday
- Prosecutors agreed to drop a gun charge as part of a plea deal with Taylor
- As part of the deal, prosecutors will not seek a sentence of more than six months
The mother of a six-year-old boy who bragged about shooting his first-grade teacher in the chest pleaded guilty to a child neglect charge on Tuesday.
Deja Taylor, 25, avoided felony charges after closing a plea deal seven months after her child shot 26-year-old Abby Zwerner at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia.
Moments after the shooting, according to search warrants filed in the case, the child told a reading specialist who stopped him, “I shot that son of a bitch,” and “I got my mom’s gun last night.”
As part of Taylor’s plea deal, prosecutors said they will not seek a sentence longer than the state’s sentencing guidelines, which call for six months in jail or jail.
The January shooting shocked the nation and shook up this shipbuilding town near the Chesapeake Bay. The case against Taylor is one of three legal attempts to gain accountability, including the teacher’s $40 million lawsuit accusing the school system of gross negligence.
The child had taken the gun, which belonged to his mother Deja Taylor (pictured), from home to school and threatened to use it all day
Abigail Zwerner was shot by a six-year-old student in January. Newly unsealed documents show that the student then bragged about the incident
Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia, where the shooting took place. Several parents have filed a lawsuit against the school for failing to protect their children
Police said the first grader deliberately shot teacher Zwerner as she sat at a reading table during a lesson.
Zwerner, who was hit in the hand and chest, spent nearly two weeks in the hospital and underwent multiple surgeries.
Police said the student brought the gun to school in his backpack with pictures of sharks on it. But it remains unclear exactly how the six-year-old got the gun.
Taylor told police she believed the gun was in her purse, secured with a trigger lock and on top of her bedroom dresser, according to search warrants. She said she kept the gunlock key under her bedroom mattress.
But officers from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said they never found a trigger lock after conducting searches, according to federal court documents.
In April, Taylor was charged with child neglect and reckless storage of a firearm.
In June, the mother pleaded guilty in a separate but related federal case to using marijuana while carrying a firearm, which is illegal under US law.
Taylor’s lawyer, James Ellenson, said in April there were “extenuating circumstances” including her miscarriages and postpartum depression before the shooting.
Taylor told ABC’s “Good Morning America” in May that she feels responsible and apologized to Zwerner.
“That’s my son, so obviously as a parent I’m willing to take responsibility for him because he can’t take responsibility for himself,” Taylor said.
Zwerner allegedly told police about other incidents where the student threatened violence and physically attacked others
Her son has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and was under a care plan where a family member accompanied him to class every day, Ellenson said.
The week of the shooting was the first that a parent was not in his class. The change was made because the boy had started medication and was achieving his academic goals, Taylor said.
“I want to sincerely apologize,” Taylor said on the show.