A Virginia judge on Thursday dismissed all charges against a former school administrator accused of ignoring repeated warnings that a 6-year-old had a gun hours before a teacher was shot.
Acting on a defense motion, Circuit Judge Rebecca Robinson issued the ruling on the fourth day of the trial of Ebony Parker, who was charged with eight felony counts of child neglect.
“The court is of the legal opinion that this is not a crime,” Robinson said.
The former assistant principal was charged in the January 2023 shooting at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News that left teacher Abby Zwerner wounded. Prosecutors had said the charges issued in a grand jury indictment were for each of the bullets in the gun brought into Zwerner’s classroom. Each count could have carried a maximum penalty of five years in prison upon conviction.
“We had hoped the community would have had the opportunity to weigh in through the full judicial process,” Hampton commonwealth’s attorney Anton A. Bell said in a statement. “Nevertheless, the Court has now concluded the matter as it deemed appropriate under the law. Our office remains committed to pursuing justice with integrity, transparency, and fairness, while continuing to honor the role that citizens play in our criminal justice system.”
Parker lowered her head and cried when the judge announced her decision, then hugged her attorneys afterward.
Defense attorney Curtis Rogers told the judge in making his motion that Parker’s decision on the day of the shooting “wasn’t an act of neglect.”
“Her actions in no way indicated that she believed there was a firearm in the possession” of the child, Rogers said.
Another defense attorney, Stephen Teague, said outside court that “we believe that the right outcome was reached and we’re thrilled for Dr. Parker. It was a great relief for her and we’re just happy that we were part of her journey.”
Parker was not called to testify during the trial. On Wednesday, a video interview of Parker conducted three days after the shooting by a school district human resources officer was played in the courtroom for the jury.
Parker said she was told about reports that the student had a gun in his backpack, but said she could not leave her office due to ongoing testing. A reading specialist who first reported the concerns then searched the backpack, but no gun was found, Parker said.
Parker then said the student’s mother would arrive to pick him up and go through the rest of his belongings.
Zwerner testified earlier in the trial that during recess on the school playground, the student wore an oversized jacket and kept both of his hands in his pockets the entire time. Zwerner said she sent a text message with that observation to the reading specialist, who had been tipped off earlier by students about the gun and reported it to Parker.
After recess, the student continued to wear the jacket in the classroom, where Zwerner was shot at a reading table. Zwerner spent nearly two weeks in the hospital, required six surgeries and does not have the full use of her left hand. A bullet narrowly missed her heart and remains in her chest.
Criminal charges against school officials after a school shooting are quite rare, experts say. The shooting sent shock waves through this military shipbuilding community and the country at large, with many wondering how a child so young could gain access to a gun and shoot his teacher.
A jury awarded $10 million to Zwerner in a civil trial last November, where Parker, who no longer works at the school, was the only defendant.
The student’s mother was sentenced to nearly four years in prison for felony child neglect and federal weapons charges.
