The mother of the 6-year-old boy who shot a teacher at a Virginia elementary school has been charged in connection with the shooting.
Deja Taylor is facing charges of felony child neglect and recklessly leaving a loaded firearm so as to endanger a child, a misdemeanor. A grand jury for the city of Newport News, Virginia, returned the two indictments, officials confirmed in a news release on Monday.
Authorities allege that the firearm the boy used in the shooting belonged to his mother.
“Every criminal case is unique in its facts, and these facts support these charges, but our investigation into the shooting continues,” Commonwealth’s Attorney for Newport News Howard Gwynn said in the news release.
The Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office has also petitioned for a “special grand jury to continue the investigation into any security issues that may have contributed to this shooting,” officials said Monday.
The teacher, Abby Zwerner, was shot in the hand and chest on Jan. 6 in her classroom at Richneck Elementary School. She received four surgeries and spent nearly two weeks in the hospital.
James Ellenson, an attorney for the child’s family, told the Associated Press his client plans to turn herself in to authorities later this week.
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Zwerner filed a lawsuit last week seeking $40 million in damages from school officials, accusing administrators of negligence and ignoring warnings the day of the shooting. It cites the Newport News School Board, former Superintendent George Parker III, former Richneck principal Briana Foster-Newton and former Richneck assistant principal Ebony Parker.
Zwerner’s attorney, Diane Toscano, previously told reporters staff at the school informed administrators multiple times that the 6-year-old child had a gun and was threatening his fellow students before Zwerner was shot.
Toscano in a statement to USA TODAY on Monday said “There were failures in accountability at multiple levels that led to Abby being shot and almost killed.”
“Today’s announcement addresses but one of those failures. It has been three months of investigation and still so many unanswered questions remain. Our lawsuit makes clear that we believe the school division violated state law, and we are pursuing this in civil court. We will not allow school leaders to escape accountability for their role in this tragedy,” she added.
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In February, a legal notice of Zwerner’s intent to sue the school district alleged that the boy had previously cursed at staff and teachers, tried to hit other students with his belt and choked another teacher.
Gwynn has previously said his office doesn’t “believe the law supports charging a 6-year-old with a criminal offense as serious as this one.”
Ellenson has said the gun was stored with a trigger lock in a closet. The family has previously said they do not know how the boy got the gun.
“The parents have continued to cooperate with the authorities and continue to pray for the welfare and good health of all involved,” Ellenson told USA TODAY last month.
Contributing: Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY; Associated Press
