(NewsInsights.org) – A 6-year-old boy with behavioral problems came to school at Richneck Elementary in Newport News, Virginia, on January 6 with his mother’s loaded gun that he’d stolen. Without providing any warning or reason why, the child pointed the gun at first-grade teacher Abby Zwerner, 25, and shot her, changing countless lives forever. Now, a federal court has sentenced the boy’s mother to prison on charges related to the incident.
The bullet shattered Zwerner’s left hand, and fragments struck her in the chest. She survived but required five surgeries to repair her hand. After the shooting, the boy told a reading specialist he’d killed his teacher with his mother’s gun, which he’d taken out of her purse from on top of the dresser.
When police searched the child’s home, they found nearly an ounce of marijuana and drug paraphernalia in his mother’s, Deja Taylor’s, bedroom. Based on text messages and the state of the paraphernalia, authorities determined Taylor used marijuana chronically.
Federal authorities charged and convicted her of using marijuana while owning a gun and lying on federal forms about her drug use. Mark Davis, the US District Judge for the Eastern District of Virginia, called Taylor derelict in her duties and responsibilities as a parent. The judge said her behavior “cries out for a sentence of imprisonment,” and sentenced her to 21 months in prison.
Taylor’s attorneys petitioned the court for home confinement and probation, arguing that their client needed counseling and treatment for both marijuana addiction and a schizoaffective disorder. Yet, Davis disagreed and handed down the nearly two-year sentence.
Since the shooting, Taylor’s son has lived with her grandfather, who has full custody of the child, now 7. Her grandfather also accompanied her to court dates and her sentencing. Taylor still faces sentencing on the state charge of felony child neglect.
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