The Newport News Police Department reported that a woman had been arrested after her six-year-old child shot his first-grade teacher in Virginia earlier this year.
Twenty-five-year-old Deja Taylor turned herself in at the Newport News City Jail on Thursday due to outstanding warrants relating to the Virginia shooting incident at Richneck Elementary School on January 6.
Taylor is accused of misdemeanor carelessly leaving a loaded gun near a minor and felony child neglect. according to Fox News.
According to her attorney, James Ellensen, she will appear in Newport News Circuit Court on Friday after posting a $5,000 bail.
Ellensen noted that Taylor has never been charged before, so she is terrified and worried, but she's doing well.
Following an investigation by the Newport News Police Department and the Commonwealth Attorney's Office, charges were filed. Commonwealth's Attorney Howard Gwynn commented that although the facts of the case supported the charges, their inquiry into the shooting was ongoing.
The Commonwealth's Attorney has further requested that a Circuit Court judge appoint a Special Grand Jury to carry out further research into security flaws that may have permitted the Virginia shooting in January. The investigation may result in other persons being charged with crimes in connection with the incident.
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Abby Zwerner, a first-grade teacher, was shot and injured while seated at a reading table in her classroom, according to authorities, more than three months before Taylor's arrest.
According to the police, the boy used his mother's lawfully acquired pistol. Zwerner sued the school district for $40 million last week, alleging gross negligence and that administrators disregarded several warnings from instructors and other individuals that the child had brought a firearm to school that day, per NBC News.
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Diane Toscano, Zwerner's attorney, responded to the recent allegations stating that multiple breaches of responsibility led to the victim "being shot and almost killed."
Toscano added that there are still unanswered questions after three months of investigation, ABC News reported. Toscano stated that they believe the school division "violated state law," and they will be pursuing the case in civil court so school administrators will not avoid responsibility for their part in the Virginia shooting.
The local prosecutor's office said on Tuesday that it is looking into the possibility of filing criminal charges in connection with any "actions or omissions" of school workers during the Virginia shooting.
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