A Virginia child, age 6, shot and injured his teacher. His mother had suffered from repeated miscarriages and postpartum depression the previous year.
Her counsel stated on Friday, after she was arraigned on charges of child negligence, that she had failed to secure the weapon used in the shooting by her son.
Mother’s Response in Virginia Court
On January 6, the child shot his first-grade teacher, Abigail Zwerner, in the left hand and chest, according to the police. Since the incident, she has spent two weeks in the hospital and undergone four surgeries.
The Associated Press will not identify the mother in order to protect her son’s identity. This week, a grand jury indicted the mother, who turned herself in Thursday and was released after posting a $5,000 surety.
In Newport News Circuit Court, the 25-year-old woman stood with her hands clasped behind her back as the two allegations against her were read. She did not speak except to answer the judge’s query with “No, sir.” After the hearing, she hurriedly left a swarm of reporters and television cameras without comment.
Request For Judge-Only Trial Instead Of A Jury
James Ellenson, her attorney, stated that his client desires to reach a plea agreement with prosecutors and anticipates that they will take “mitigating circumstances” into account.
He mentioned the woman’s multiple miscarriages, including one in January 2022 following an ectopic pregnancy that required hospitalization. A pregnancy that develops outside the uterus, typically in the fallopian tube, is termed ectopic. Ellenson said the miscarriages resulted in post-partum depression.
Ellenson has requested a judge-only trial rather than a jury. The trial date has been scheduled for August 15.
The maximum sentence for felony dereliction is five years in prison. The maximum sentence for the misdemeanor allegation of carelessly storing a firearm is one year in jail.
According to Ellenson, the mother believed her legally purchased firearm was secured on a high shelf in her wardrobe with a trigger lock. It is unclear how the student obtained the firearm and brought it to school on the day of the attack.
Last week, Zwerner filed a $40 million lawsuit against the school system, accusing school officials of gross negligence and ignoring numerous warnings from teachers and others that the boy had a gun hours before the shooting.
Tuesday, the municipal prosecutor’s office announced that it is investigating whether school employees’ actions or omissions could result in criminal charges.
Ellenson stated that the boy has an acute disability and was required to be accompanied to class daily by his mother, father, or grandfather. The week of the murder was the first time he did not have a parent in class.
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