A Virginia circuit court judge dismissed the criminal trial for Ebony Parker, the former assistant principal at an elementary school where a 6-year-old boy shot his teacher, who was accused of gross negligence in the incident.
Prosecutors claimed Parker, who worked at Richneck Elementary when the shooting took place in January 2023, had ignored warnings that the student had a gun before the shooting took place.
She had been charged with eight charges of felony child neglect — one for every bullet in the gun — which is an extremely rare charge for an administrator following a school shooting. Prosecutors accused her of gross, wanton and culpable negligence that put the children's lives in danger.
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Parker broke down in tears as the judge ruled on a defense motion to strike down the case. The judge said that some of the issues debated in the trial were "legal theories," and in order for them to amount to a crime, the Virginia General Assembly would need to essentially write new laws.
Watch: Ebony Parker breaks down in court after case is dismissed
Charging a school administrator in the aftermath of a school shooting without precedent, the judge added Thursday.
Reporters followed Parker outside the courthouse and asked if she felt vindicated by the judge's decision, but she continued walking without answering.
In the moments after the verdict, the family of Abby Zwerner shared the following statement with the Scripps New Group station in Norfolk, Virginia:
"We are happy that this tragic event is behind Abby," the statement, sent by Karen Piere, Abby's aunt, reads. "As devastating as this shooting was, may it bring change to the education system in our country so that violent children are not placed in a general education classroom, and I hope that administrators are held accountable if this were to happen again for violent behavior."
The case concludes a major lingering chapter in the saga that followed the shooting of former first-grade teacher Abby Zwerner by a 6-year-old student in her class on Jan. 6, 2023.
The bullet went through her hand and pierced her chest, nearly killing her and, according to testimony in the civil suit, permanently damaged her hand and shortened her expected lifespan.
In the weeks and months that followed, numerous officials within the Newport News school division were removed or reassigned, Zwerner's team filed a $40 million civil suit against the Newport News School Division, alleging gross negligence.
Eventually, the defendants in that suit were removed and Parker, as the school administrator, informed about the gun reports, was the sole member of the division who remained a defendant.
Deja Taylor, the mother of the 6-year-old shooter, was tried and convicted in 2023 of child neglect in allowing her son to access the gun he used to shoot Zwerner. She was convicted of an additional federal charge for lying on a gun purchase form about her marijuana use.
Watch: Reporters question Ebony Parker after case is dismissed
Although the civil trial found her to be grossly negligent in not preventing Zwerner's shooting, with the burden of proof higher, the judge said that Parker's inaction did not constitute a crime.
This story was originally published by the Scripps News Group station in Norfolk, Virginia.
