Mom Of Boy, 6, Who Shot VA Teacher Sentenced To Prison On Drug Charge

NEWPORT NEWS, VA — The mother of a 6-year-old boy who shot his teacher at a Virginia elementary school earlier this year was sentenced Wednesday to 21 months in prison for using marijuana while owning a gun, according to an Associated Press report.

Deja Taylor’s son took her handgun to school and shot teacher Abigail Zwerner in her first-grade classroom at Richneck Elementary School. Investigators later found nearly an ounce of marijuana in Taylor’s bedroom and evidence of frequent drug use in her text messages and paraphernalia.

Taylor’s sentencing in a U.S. District Court offered the first measure of accountability for January’s shooting, which revived a national dialogue about gun violence and roiled the military shipbuilding city of Newport News.

Taylor, 26, still faces a separate sentencing in December for felony child neglect. While Taylor faces up to five years in prison for the charge, prosecutors have recommended she serve up to six months.

Authorities said Taylor's son took the gun to school and pulled it from his backpack before using it to shoot Zwerner.

Newport News Police Chief Steve Drew has repeatedly characterized the shooting as "intentional," saying the boy aimed at Zwerner and fired one round, striking her in the hand and chest. The shot resulted in severe injuries, including a collapsed lung.

Zwerner spent two weeks in the hospital before she was released.

After shooting Zwerner, a teacher who restrained the boy told authorities the child said, "I got my mom's gun last night" and "I shot that b---- dead," according to search warrants.

Taylor was charged in April. As part of a plea deal, a misdemeanor charge of recklessly leaving a loaded firearm to endanger a child was dropped, allowing Taylor to avoid a potential six-year prison sentence, reports said.

In addition to the child neglect charge, Taylor pleaded guilty to federal charges that she lied on a background check to purchase a handgun and used marijuana while in possession of the gun.

Earlier this month, a judge ruled that Zwerner's $40 million lawsuit against the district could proceed. Zwerner filed the lawsuit prior to Taylor's arrest, alleging school administrators ignored multiple warnings that the boy posed a threat.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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