mother of a 6-year-old boy, shot his teacher A Virginia teacher pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of felony child neglect seven months after her son fatally injured the educator with her handgun in a classroom full of students.
Prosecutors agree to drop misdemeanor charges against Deja Taylor for reckless storage of firearms. As part of the plea deal, prosecutors said they would not seek a sentence longer than state sentencing guidelines, which call for six months in prison. The judge will have full discretion and will ultimately determine Taylor’s sentence. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for October 27.
taylor charged in april Convicted of a felony of child neglect and a misdemeanor of reckless storage of a firearm.
shootings in january shocked the whole country and stirred up the shipbuilding city Near the Chesapeake Bay.The case against Taylor is one of three legal actions seeking accountability, including the teacher’s $40 million lawsuit accusing the school system of gross negligence.
Police say first-year student Deliberately shooting teacher Abby Zwirner When she sits at the reading desk during class. Zwirner, Who gets shot in the hands and chestI stayed in the hospital for nearly two weeks and underwent multiple surgeries.
Shortly after the shooting, under a search warrant While filing the case, the child told a reading expert who stopped him: “I shot that (expletive),” and “I got my mom’s gun last night.”
Police said the student brought the gun to the school in a backpack, but it is unclear how the 6-year-old got hold of the gun.
During Taylor’s plea hearing on Tuesday, a prosecutor said the boy told authorities he got his hands on the gun, which was stored in his mother’s purse, by climbing up a drawer to reach the top of the dresser. These details are contained in a “stipulation of facts,” which is a list of facts that both parties agree to be true.
When police arrived at the school that day, they entered the classroom and saw the boy being restrained by a reading specialist, according to the facts document read out by prosecutors.
The boy said “I shot my teacher” obscenely before breaking free and punching the reading specialist in the face, the documents allege.
The gun was on the floor nearby. “My mom was like that. …I stole it because I needed to shoot my teacher,” the boy said, the documents show.
The boy was diagnosed with defiant disorder, the documents said. He had previously taken her car keys from his mother’s purse, prompting her to put them in a lock box. But she continued to keep the gun in her purse, the documents said.
Taylor told police she believed the gun was in her purse, secured with a trigger lock, according to the search warrant. She said she kept the gun lock key under the mattress in her bedroom. But ATF agents said they never found the trigger lock after conducting searches, according to federal court documents. The fact note also said authorities found no gun safes or trigger locks during the search.
Taylor did not speak during the plea hearing, except to answer questions from the judge about whether she understood the proceedings. She spoke in such a low voice that the judge asked her to raise her voice.
In June, Taylor pleaded guilty in court separate but related federal case Using marijuana while possessing a firearm is illegal under US law.
Taylor’s attorney, James Ellenson, said in April There are “mitigating circumstances”, Including her miscarriage and postpartum depression before the shooting. Ellenson said Tuesday he would address depression and anxiety during Taylor’s sentencing hearing.
Taylor was interviewed on ABC’s “Good Morning America” in May she feels responsible And apologize to Zwirner.
“That was my son, so as a parent, I was obviously willing to take responsibility for him because he couldn’t take responsibility for himself,” Taylor said.
Ellenson said her son has ADHD and is on a care plan that includes a family member accompanying him to class each day.
His parents did not attend classes with him the first week of the shooting. Taylor said the change was made because the boy had started medication and was meeting his academic goals.
“I really want to apologize,” Taylor said on the show.
Ellenson told the court on Tuesday that the boy is now in the care of his great-grandfather.
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