A Virginia judge has dismissed all criminal charges against former assistant principal Ebony Parker, who was accused of failing to act on warnings that a 6-year-old boy had a gun before he shot his teacher during class in 2023.
Circuit Court Judge Rebecca Robinson of the Newport News Circuit Court granted a defense motion to throw out the eight felony child neglect counts on the fourth day of Parker's trial.
Robinson said that, under current Virginia law, Parker's conduct did not amount to a criminal offense and that there was "no crime" before the court, according to the New York Post.
Prosecutors had argued Parker ignored repeated warnings that the first grader had brought a firearm to Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia, but the judge ruled the state had not met its burden of proof.
The charges stemmed from the Jan. 6, 2023, shooting of first-grade teacher Abigail Zwerner in her classroom. The child, using a handgun brought from home, fired a single shot that struck Zwerner in the hand and chest, injuries that required surgery and a lengthy recovery.
Police and court records indicate the boy took the gun from his mother's home and brought it to Richneck Elementary in his backpack.
Prosecutors alleged that staff members warned Parker multiple times on the day of the shooting that the child might have a gun, including reports that he had threatened classmates.
According to prior testimony and civil filings, one teacher said she searched the boy's backpack without finding a weapon and raised the possibility that the gun could be in his pocket, while another reported that a crying student said he had been threatened with a gun at recess.
The indictment claimed Parker failed to order a full search, call police, or initiate a lockdown before the shooting occurred, CNN reported.
The dismissal leaves Parker free of criminal liability even as she has already faced significant civil consequences. In 2025, a Virginia jury in a separate civil case found Parker grossly negligent and awarded Zwerner $10 million in damages, concluding the former administrator ignored critical warning signs about the gun.
Zwerner's suit originally sought $40 million, alleging Parker acted in "reckless disregard" for her safety and that the shooting left her with ongoing physical pain and emotional trauma.
The boy's mother, Deja Taylor, previously pleaded guilty to related state child neglect and federal firearms offenses.
She was sentenced to a total term of nearly four years, including two years in state prison, for failing to secure the handgun her son used in the classroom attack. The child, who was 6 at the time of the shooting, has not been criminally charged, as per the BBC.
