Abigail Zwerner JMU Delta Gamma Alumna

[TLLK]

Originally Posted by AZTheta

I logged in to post the latest updates, and see that you’ve done so, thanks. If it’s true what the six year old is alleged to have said, this is so far beyond anything that can be excused or blamed or whatever spin someone might try to put on his actions. And his family as well. Yes those are poorly worded sentences. I’m seeing red and that’s my excuse. No time to rewrite or edit.

This is not going to end well. All the money in the world can’t restore Ms. Zwerner to who she was prior to the shooting. And I don’t have the professional training to address the multiple issues in the shooter and his family.

You're welcome.
I cannot imagine what it was like for his prior teacher(s) and the instructional aides who had to deal with his explosive behaviors. He's too young to have understood his actions, but he is also a threat to his peers. His actions towards them and other adults is the reason why he was a behavior transfer and a parent was required to accompany him to school each day.



You are correct in stating that this will not end well for him, his family and his teacher Ms. Zwerner.

[TLLK]

Here's today's news related to this case.


https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...deal-rcna99973

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — The mother of a 6-year-old student who police say intentionally opened fire on his first-grade teacher pleaded guilty Tuesday in a Virginia court in connection with the shooting in January.
Deja Taylor, 26, was charged with felony child neglect and could serve up to six months in state prison based on prosecutors' recommendation. She will be sentenced Oct. 27.

As part of a plea deal, a separate charge — a misdemeanor count of recklessly leaving a loaded firearm so as to endanger a child — was dropped, allowing Taylor to avoid a potential six-year prison sentence.

[TLLK]

https://www.wtkr.com/news/in-the-com...nnps-heres-why

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — A Newport News judge said he will wait to decide if a former Richneck Elementary teacher shot by a student is covered under workers' compensation, or if her $40 million lawsuit goes to trial.
This information came out of a hearing on Friday, tied to the January shooting in which police say a 6-year-old student shot his teacher, Abby Zwerner, at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News.

“This does arise from employment, and it is within the jurisdiction of workers comp,” said John Mumford Jr., an attorney for the Newport News School Board.
Zwerner was at Friday's hearing, and afterwards stood with her attorneys as they addressed the media. Zwerner did not comment.

“It’s overwhelming, she’s doing good though, it’s good to be here, it’s nice to get through this hearing, we look forward to having a trial in this matter,” Diane Toscano, Zwerner's attorney.
Judge Matthew Hoffman said he would make a decision "in a written format within a week" after both sides presented their arguments in court Friday

[AZTheta]

^^^ well, TLLK, that school board and school district must have very deep pockets indeed. Imagine the machinations that are taking place. Ugh.

This is shaping up to be a $$$ legal battle. I’m frustrated. Those responsible are going to do their best to keep from being held accountable, or at a minimum, shift the blame and responsibility elsewhere IMO. Damn. Ms. Zwerner deserves to be made whole.

Any news on the sentencing (of the child’s parent) that was scheduled for 10/27?

[Roses78]

According to NBC news from Washington, her sentencing has been moved to December.


https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/l...r-old/3454981/

[AZTheta]

^^^thank you Roses78 for posting that link. Article contained more in depth info on Virginia law, etc. and I see the situation in more detail.

[Roses78]

You're quite welcome! That whole story is all kinds of twisty. I hope Ms. Zwerner comes out of it as well as she possibly can.

[TLLK]

Originally Posted by AZTheta

^^^ well, TLLK, that school board and school district must have very deep pockets indeed. Imagine the machinations that are taking place. Ugh.

This is shaping up to be a $$$ legal battle. I’m frustrated. Those responsible are going to do their best to keep from being held accountable, or at a minimum, shift the blame and responsibility elsewhere IMO. Damn. Ms. Zwerner deserves to be made whole.

Any news on the sentencing (of the child’s parent) that was scheduled for 10/27?

As a former elementary school teacher, now substitute teacher I am so disappointed in the attitude from the district. That they're even considering this to be a workman's compensation case rather than the result of the inaction and absence of accountability from the school's administration. Ms Zwerner and other teachers/staff repeated warned the administration that the student reportedly had a gun in his backpack. No student, teacher or staff member should ever expect to be shot, stabbed or physically assaulted in a school setting. However it happens nearly every day across this nation as teachers, staff and other classmates are hit, kicked at and assaulted by students who might be in the "least restrictive" but definitely not "appropriate" setting!

[Roses78]

One more update, for those following the story:

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...les-rcna123599

[TLLK]

^^^Thank you Roses 78. I am so pleased that the judge has ruled in her favor and that she can proceed with her lawsuit.

[Roses78]

Me too! And you're welcome. I'll keep an eye on this one in case something else happens.

[Roses78]

Another update --

Mom's sentenced reference drug use and guns -- these are federal charges with the state charges still pending.


https://www.wavy.com/news/local-news...ederal-prison/

[TLLK]

Thank you for sharing this news update. I am so pleased to see that the judge believed that this case "cried out for incarceration." Based on this article, I am of the opinion that Ms. Taylor should not have custody of her son as she has repeatedly made choices that are criminal in nature ie: shooting at her son's father while he was driving. She claimed that she was aiming for his female passenger. (Taylor used another descriptive noun for a woman.)

[TLLK]

Ms. Taylor receives her sentence today.


https://www.pilotonline.com/2023/12/...ution-request/

NEWPORT NEWS — The mother of the 6-year-old student who shot his first-grade teacher at Richneck Elementary School was sentenced Friday to two years behind bars on a state child neglect charge — on top of the 21 month federal sentence she already received.
Judge Christopher Papile handed down the sentence against Deja Nicole Taylor after an hour-long sentencing hearing in Newport News Circuit Court, greatly exceeding the six months that prosecutors had requested under Taylor’s plea agreement.
Though prosecutors followed through on their promise to ask for no more than six months — the high end of sentencing guidelines in the case — Papile said that wasn’t enough for the crime and the “egregious” facts of this case.
“A parent’s ultimate and overarching and primary and paramount — however you want to say it — responsibility is to keep a child safe,” Papile said. “To protect the child, to keep them from bad influences, to keep them from dangerous situations, to keep them healthy and nurtured. Ms. Taylor has abdicated most if not all of these responsibilities.”
“The results of that (neglect) are egregious,” Papile said, noting not only the physical and psychological harm done to the teacher, Abigail Zwerner, but also other children in the classroom who had to witness the shooting.

[AZTheta]

Just popped up on my news feed, TLLK. Thanks to you and Roses78 for keeping us informed. Two years for state, 21 months for federal. I don’t know. How is it possible to make Ms. Zwerner whole? And the other children in the class who were there that day as well as having to have spent time with that student up until the shooting? What about them? Lot of victims here.

Sometimes I just want to crawl into bed, pull the covers up over my head, and not deal. Then I think about Sandy Hook, and this case, and countless other cases here in the USA where guns are valued above human life. It’s a luxury to want to hide, and I can’t afford the price. Onward. Not finished fighting. Not yet.