Trial begins for assistant principal when 6-year-old brought gun to Virginia school, shot teacher

A former assistant principal of an elementary school in Virginia is facing eight counts of felony child neglect in connection to a 6-year-old student who brought a gun to school and shot his teacher. Her criminal trial begins on Monday. 

Ebony Parker was the assistant principal at Richneck Elementary School in Virginia when the student shot Abby Zwerner in January 2023. Zwerner spent two weeks in the hospital and had six surgeries. She survived but no longer has full use of her left hand, WFMJ reported. 

Parker is charged with eight counts of felony child neglect, a count for each of the eight bullets that were in the gun the student brought to school. 

In November, a jury awarded Zwerner $10 million in her lawsuit accusing Parker of ignoring repeated warnings that the child had a gun. Zwerner is scheduled to testify in Parker's criminal trial. 

The student had gotten the gun from his mother's purse. The mother was sentenced to nearly four years in prison for child neglect and federal weapons charges, the Associated Press reported.