Current:Home > ScamsMother of 6-year-old boy who shot his Virginia teacher faces two new federal charges -AssetBase
Mother of 6-year-old boy who shot his Virginia teacher faces two new federal charges
View
Date:2025-04-23 19:54:30
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! (623)
Related
- Meta donates $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund
- Georgia’s cash hoard approaches $11 billion after a third year of big surpluses
- Girl Scout troop treasurer arrested for stealing over $12,000: Police
- The mother of an Israeli woman in a Hamas hostage video appeals for her release
- Retirement planning: 3 crucial moves everyone should make before 2025
- 'The Daily Show' returns with jokes and serious talk about war in Israel
- How Will and Jada Pinkett Smith's Daughter Willow Reacted to Bombshell Book Revelations
- Bills RB Damien Harris released from hospital after neck injury, per report
- A White House order claims to end 'censorship.' What does that mean?
- Oscar-winner Michelle Yeoh elected to be an International Olympic Committee member
Ranking
- Opinion: Gianni Infantino, FIFA sell souls and 2034 World Cup for Saudi Arabia's billions
- Travis Barker's Son Landon Barker Shares His Struggles With Alcohol
- Dolly Parton will be Dallas Cowboys' Thanksgiving Day halftime performer
- Dolly Parton will be Dallas Cowboys' Thanksgiving Day halftime performer
- Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
- Rite Aid files for bankruptcy amid opioid-related lawsuits and falling sales
- 'Specter of death' hangs over Gaza as aid groups wait for access, UN official says
- Code Switch: Baltimore teens are fighting for environmental justice — and winning
Recommendation
Bodycam footage shows high
India’s Supreme Court refuses to legalize same-sex marriage, says it is up to Parliament
Horoscopes Today, October 16, 2023
Putin begins visit in China underscoring ties amid Ukraine war and Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Working Well: When holidays present rude customers, taking breaks and the high road preserve peace
'Rick and Morty' reveals replacements for Justin Roiland in Season 7 premiere
Travis Kelce Has a Home Run Night Out With Brother Jason Kelce at Philadelphia Phillies Game
Los Angeles hit with verdict topping $13 million in death of man restrained by police officers