Current:Home > ContactMother of 6-year-old boy who shot his Virginia teacher faces two new federal charges -AssetVision
Mother of 6-year-old boy who shot his Virginia teacher faces two new federal charges
View
Date:2025-04-12 17:09:42
The mother of a 6-year-old boy accused of shooting and seriously wounding his first-grade teacher earlier this year in Virginia faces two new federal charges, according to court documents filed on Monday.
Deja Taylor is accused of unlawfully using a controlled substance while in possession of a firearm and making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm. The new charges follow felony charges filed in April accusing Taylor of child neglect and endangerment.
Taylor "knowingly made a false and fictitious written statement to Winfree Firearms," a gun shop in Grafton, Va., from which she purchased a 9mm semiautomatic handgun, court documents filed with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia allege. The documents also allege that Taylor falsely claimed on Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives application forms that she did not use marijuana despite unlawfully using the drug.
Abby Zwerner, a 25-year-old teacher at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia, was shot in the hand and chest by a student on Jan. 6 as she sat at a reading table in her classroom. She spent nearly two weeks in the hospital and has had four surgeries since the shooting.
While the boy was not charged in connection with the shooting, a grand jury returned an indictment charging his mother with "felony child neglect and misdemeanor recklessly leaving a loaded firearm so as to endanger a child," Newport News Commonwealth's Attorney Howard Gwynn said in April. Taylor will return to court in August to face those charges, CBS affiliate WTVR reported.
The boy used his mother's gun, police said, which had been purchased legally.
Family members said the gun was secured. They also noted the 6-year-old boy suffers from an acute disability.
Zwerner in April filed a $40 million lawsuit, accusing school officials of gross negligence for allegedly ignoring multiple warnings that the boy had a gun and was in a "violent mood" on the day of the shooting.
S. DevS. Dev is a news editor for CBSNews.com.
veryGood! (3525)
Related
- Civic engagement nonprofits say democracy needs support in between big elections. Do funders agree?
- Amazon ends its charity donation program AmazonSmile after other cost-cutting efforts
- This AI expert has 90 days to find a job — or leave the U.S.
- Q&A: A Republican Congressman Hopes to Spread a New GOP Engagement on Climate from Washington, D.C. to Glasgow
- Sarah J. Maas books explained: How to read 'ACOTAR,' 'Throne of Glass' in order.
- Lisa Marie Presley’s Twins Finley and Harper Lockwood Look So Grown Up in Graduation Photo
- Jeffrey Carlson, actor who played groundbreaking transgender character on All My Children, dead at 48
- In a Dry State, Farmers Use Oil Wastewater to Irrigate Their Fields, but is it Safe?
- Average rate on 30
- Amazon loses bid to overturn historic union win at Staten Island warehouse
Ranking
- Who are the most valuable sports franchises? Forbes releases new list of top 50 teams
- Olaplex, Sunday Riley & More: Stock Up on These Under $50 Beauty Deals Today Only
- As prices soar, border officials are seeing a spike in egg smuggling from Mexico
- Mary Nichols Was the Early Favorite to Run Biden’s EPA, Before She Became a ‘Casualty’
- Friday the 13th luck? 13 past Mega Millions jackpot wins in December. See top 10 lottery prizes
- The U.S. could hit its debt ceiling within days. Here's what you need to know.
- Senate 2020: In Colorado, Where Climate Matters, Hickenlooper is Favored to Unseat Gardner
- Exxon climate predictions were accurate decades ago. Still it sowed doubt
Recommendation
Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
Biden Heads for Glasgow Climate Talks with High Ambitions, but Minus the Full Slate of Climate Policies He’d Hoped
3 events that will determine the fate of cryptocurrencies
Inside Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor's Private Family Life With Their Kids
Elon Musk's skyrocketing net worth: He's the first person with over $400 billion
Maps show flooding in Vermont, across the Northeast — and where floods are forecast to continue
Here's what's at stake in Elon Musk's Tesla tweet trial
Jeffrey Carlson, actor who played groundbreaking transgender character on All My Children, dead at 48