The mother of the 6-year-old who shot his instructor at Richneck Elementary School in Virginia was indicted on Monday.
The boy shot his first-grade teacher, Abby Zwerner, while in class on Jan. 6. Now, his mother, 25-year-old Deja Nicole Taylor, will face one felony count of child neglect and a misdemeanor count of recklessly leaving a loaded firearm so as to endanger a child, according to a Monday news release from the Newport News Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office.
“Every criminal case is unique in its facts, and these facts support these charges, but our investigation into the shooting continues,” Newport News Commonwealth’s Attorney Howard Gwynn said in the release.
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Gwynn also petitioned the court to impanel a “special grand jury” to continue investigating other factors in the shooting, which could potentially lead to more charges and will take “as long as necessary.”
“The Special Grand Jury will investigate to determine whether additional charges against additional persons are justified by the facts and the law,” Gwynn said in the release. “If the Special Grand Jury determines that additional persons are criminally responsible under the law, it can return additional indictments.”
Taylor’s indictment comes one month after Gwynn told NBC News that the child would not be charged for the shooting, calling the idea of a 6-year-old standing trial “problematic.”
Zwerner suffered serious injuries to her hand and chest as a result of the shooting, which took place in class when the boy pulled a gun from his hoodie pocket and fired a round from less than 10 feet away.
Earlier this month, Zwerner filed a $40 million lawsuit against the school district, alleging that the school ignored several of her warnings about the student.
