Opening statements began Tuesday in the trial of Ebony Parker, an assistant principal at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia, who faces eight counts of felony child neglect related to a January 2023 shooting that wounded first-grade teacher Abby Zwerner. The 6-year-old student shot Zwerner with a gun he brought into the classroom. Prosecutors allege Parker received multiple warnings from staff members about the child possessing a firearm but took no action.
Parker is accused of failing to search the child, call police, or remove him from the classroom despite repeated alerts from colleagues, according to special prosecutor Josh Jenkins. The shooting left Zwerner hospitalized for nearly two weeks, requiring six surgeries. She does not have full use of her left hand, and a bullet remains lodged near her heart.
What the Right Is Saying
Defense attorney Curtis Rogers argued that multiple school employees shared responsibility for responding to the potential threat, not just Parker. "Each one of those individuals had the authority to move those classmates," Rogers said, noting that teachers could have separated the child from his 19 classmates without an administrator's approval.
Rogers placed partial blame on Zwerner and other staff who had direct contact with the student before the shooting. He argued the prosecution must prove Parker's actions demonstrated a reckless disregard for human life, a standard he contends has not been met. Some legal observers note that criminal charges against school officials in such cases remain rare, which they say creates uncertainty around what duty of care administrators owe.
What the Left Is Saying
Democratic prosecutors and education advocates argue the case represents a failure of duty by someone entrusted with children's safety. "There was only one person in the school that day that had both the authority to act and the knowledge of the ongoing crisis," Jenkins told the jury, referring to Parker. Education groups say criminal accountability for administrators who ignore warning signs could set an important precedent for school safety protocols nationwide.
Zwerner, the first witness called to testify, described the student's behavior in the days before the shooting, including that he had slammed her phone to the ground and appeared "violent" on the day of the incident. She said she reported observations about the child keeping his hands in his pockets during recess and wearing an oversized jacket to a reading specialist who had already alerted Parker about rumors of a gun.
What the Numbers Show
Parker faces eight counts of felony child neglect, one for each bullet in the gun prosecutors say the student brought to school. Each count carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison upon conviction.
In November 2023, a jury awarded Zwerner $10 million in a civil case against Parker, who no longer works at the school. The student's mother received approximately four years in prison after pleading guilty to felony child neglect and federal weapons charges related to allowing her son access to the firearm.
According to education safety experts quoted by legal analysts, criminal prosecutions of school administrators for failing to act on credible threats are uncommon, making this trial a closely watched case in educational liability law.
The Bottom Line
The prosecution and defense have presented starkly different narratives about where responsibility lies for the shooting. Prosecutors say Parker had exclusive knowledge and authority to act but failed at every turn. Defense lawyers argue that multiple adults shared the duty to protect students, complicating any single individual's culpability.
If convicted, Parker would be among a small number of school officials to face criminal penalties for alleged failures to respond to safety warnings. The case is being watched by education policy advocates and legal scholars interested in defining administrative responsibility in student safety situations. A verdict could influence how schools nationwide handle similar threats going forward.