The 6-year-old boy who shot and seriously injured his first-grade teacher said afterward, "I shot that b***h dead," allege newly unsealed search warrant affidavits in the case.
The 6-year-old Virginia boy who shot and seriously wounded his first-grade teacher in January said afterward, "I shot that b***h dead," according to newly unsealed search warrants in the case.
A reading specialist restrained the child after the shooting and held onto him until Newport News Police officers arrived at Richneck Elementary School on Jan. 6, the warrants claim.
The boy allegedly told her "I did it" and "I got my mom's gun last night," the warrants said.
The child has not been charged in the shooting because of his age, prosecutors have said. Both police and the boy's mother said the child somehow got hold of her legally purchased handgun and took it to school.
The boy's mother, Deja Nicole Taylor, pleaded guilty in June to federal gun and marijuana charges. Taylor, 25, also pleaded guilty to a felony charge of lying on a federal background check to purchase the gun when she falsely stated she did not use marijuana.
Her sentencing hearing is scheduled for Oct. 18. “I think we’re going to get a very fair shake,” one of her attorneys, Eugene Rossi told reporters after her guilty pleas. “I really believe at the end of the day, Deja Taylor will get justice and compassion.”
The mother also faces a state charge of child neglect and intends to plead guilty to that charge at a separate hearing scheduled for Oct. 28, another one of her attorneys has said.
After the shooting, the boy's parents had released a statement saying the gun had been secured and that their son had an "acute disability" and had been under a special treatment plan at the elementary school. The parents also praised Zwerner and expressed sympathy for her injuries.
In April, Zwerner filed a $40 million lawsuit alleging school administrators ignored multiple warnings from staff and students that the boy had a gun and was threatening other children.
The lawsuit claimed school officials knew the child "had a history of random violence" at school and at home, including an episode last year in which he "strangled and choked" his kindergarten teacher.
Citing the ongoing lawsuit, the school district has consistently declined comment since the shooting.
On Tuesday, the district released a statement saying, “Since the tragedy at Richneck Elementary School in January, Newport News Public Schools has worked cooperatively with the Newport News Police Department and other authorities in support of the investigation. While the school division cannot comment on legal actions, NNPS remains committed to ensuring the well-being and care of all students and staff."
According to the newly unsealed affidavits, Zwerner told police from her hospital bed that she saw the boy standing by his desk when he "pulled a firearm out of his jacket pocket and pointed it" at her.
Before he fired the 9mm handgun, Zwerner said, "What are you doing with that?" the affidavits say.
Police have said Zwerner saved the lives of her students by leading them out of the classroom, despite being shot in the chest. The bullet pierced the hand she held up in self-defense and lodged in her chest, officers said.
The boy is undergoing treatment and is improving, the family attorneys have said.
