NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (Court TV) — A judge has dismissed the case against an assistant principal of a Virginia elementary school who was accused of failing to act before a first grader shot his teacher with a gun.
Ebony Parker appears in court during jury selection. (Court TV)
Ebony Parker was charged with eight counts of felony child abuse and had pleaded not guilty. After prosecutors spent two days presenting their case to the jury, Judge Rebecca Robinson granted the defense’s motion to dismiss the charges.
Parker was the assistant principal of Richneck Elementary School on Jan. 6, 2023, when a 6-year-old boy, identified as J.T., pulled out a gun and shot his teacher, Abigail Zwerner, in the hand and chest.
Zwerner, who suffered serious injuries in the shooting, claimed in a civil lawsuit against Parker that the student who shot her had a history of issues, including an incident where he attacked a teacher.
On the day of the shooting, one student told teachers that J.T. had shown him both the bullets and a gun and threatened to “hurt us, blow us up.” Two other students also reported that the child had a gun in his bag. Teachers and a school counselor testified at the civil trial that they had concerns about the student and had wanted to search his backpack before the shooting.
When she testified at the civil trial, Zwerner said that she had gaps in her memory from the day of the shooting, but said she remembered thinking she had died. “I thought I was dying. I thought I had died, I thought I was either on my way to Heaven or in Heaven, but then it got all black and so then I thought I wasn’t going there,” she said. “My next memory is I see two coworkers around me and I process that I’m hurt and they’re putting pressure on where I’m hurt.”
Prosecutors say Parker ignored warnings and refused to grant permission to search the child’s belongings and allegedly told the other teachers she thought the child’s pockets were too small to hold a handgun.
Parker resigned shortly after the civil suit was filed.
Parker’s defense argued at the civil trial that nobody could have expected a 6-year-old to bring a gun to school and said she followed proper protocols and procedures on the day in question.
Parker is currently appealing the civil jury’s $10 million award, which was stayed pending a postjudgment hearing.
If convicted, Parker would have faced a potential sentence of 1 to 5 years on each count.
DAILY TRIAL HIGHLIGHTS
DAY 3 – 5/21/26
- LIVESTREAM: VA v. Ebony Parker – Day 3 | 1st Grader Shoots Teacher Trial
- Judge Rebecca Robinson dismissed the case against Parker.
DAY 2 – 5/20/26
- LIVESTREAM: VA v. Ebony Parker – Day 2 | 1st Grader Shoots Teacher Trial
- Nina Farrish, Newport News Public Schools, human resources
- Was aware of an incident at Richneck Elementary School on Jan. 6. She was called in to investigate a student shooting.
- Did an interview with Ebony Parker over Zoom that was recorded.
- Parker said that students reported J.T. had a weapon in his backpack. Kovac told her and she asked if he had anything in his bag and he said no. They checked his bag while he was at lunch and found nothing.
- Talked about the incident with Zwerner’s cell phone.
- Parker became emotional in the video talking about the incident and things reported to her about the child.
- Concluded this was not something foreseeable.
- WATCH: Emotional Courtroom Moment: Assistant Principal Recalls School Shooting
- Mark Garcia, parent
- His son witnessed the shooting and was traumatized.
- The child attends therapy and is overall different from before because of the effects of the trauma from the shooting.
- Susan White, teacher, Richneck Elementary School
- Previously reported violent behavior from J.T. directly to school administrators, including Parker.
- Recalled a disturbing incident when J.T. was in kindergarten, when he wrapped his arms around her neck from behind and choked her until another staff member pulled him away. She filled out a formal incident referral and personally told administrators about the attack, adding that J.T. was returned to her classroom the next day.
- She warned administrators that she could not safely be alone in a room with the student after the incident.
- WATCH: Teacher Claims 1st-Grader Choked Her Before Shooting
- Rolonzo Rawles, school counselor
- Asked to have less contact with J.T. because he didn’t have time for other students.
- On Jan. 6, 2023, he had contact with J.T. and described him as calm, which was abnormal.
- When the school went into lockdown, he thought it was a drill and was shocked to find out it was real.
- Removed J.T. from the classroom days prior due to the cellphone incident.
- Megan Deleon, parent
- After the shooting, her daughter initially seemed relieved to reunite with her parents but later showed signs of trauma.
- Loud noises, including doorbells or slamming sounds, frightened her daughter for months because they reminded her of the gunshot in the classroom.
- Her daughter struggled emotionally because she loved Zwerner and did not understand why someone would want to hurt her.
- Nicholas Deleon, parent
- Noticed changes in his daughter after the shooting. She was anxious, depressed, quiet and distant.
- Tanisha Richardson, parent
- Her children suffered anxiety, fear, sleep issues and school avoidance after the shooting.
- Defense attorneys pressed the parents about civil lawsuits filed against Parker, suggesting a criminal conviction could help their civil case.
- Ramon Sebastian Gonzalez-Hernandez, parent
- After the shooting, his son appeared to be in complete shock and developed behavioral issues, including aggression, bedwetting, mood swings and fear of sleeping alone.
- The State rested its case.
DAY 1 – 5/19/26
- LIVESTREAM: VA v. Ebony Parker – Day 1 | 1st Grader Shoots Teacher Trial
- Joshua Jenkins delivered the opening statement for the prosecution.
- While Abigail Zwerner’s being shot is a tragedy, she is not the focus of this case. The victims in this case are the students in the classroom who were exposed to danger when a first-grader opened fire.
- J.T. had a long history of disciplinary issues, of which Parker was fully aware before the incident on Jan. 6, 2023.
- Zwerner warned Parker that day that J.T. “was in a violent mood.” In response, Parker stared at her “blankly” before returning to work.
- A reading specialist told Parker that J.T. may have a firearm. She searched his backpack but didn’t find anything. At that point, J.T. had the gun in his jacket pocket on the crowded playground.
- Another student, R.R., reported seeing the gun.
- Parker denied permission to search J.T.’s person, saying that his mother would be arriving soon.
- One round was fired from the gun. There were seven rounds found in the weapon, with one jammed in the action of the firearm.
- The school’s principal had no idea what was going on. The only administrator with knowledge of J.T.’s behavior that day and teachers’ concerns was Parker.
- WATCH: Defendant Ignored Multiple Red Flags Before Teacher Shooting: Prosecutors
- Curtis Rogers delivered the opening statement for the defense.
- If there was a legitimate concern about a weapon, any of the teachers should have separated J.T. from the other students.
- While prosecutors say Parker was the only one with authority to perform a search, any teacher could have separated the child if they thought there was a threat.
- Other people had direct interactions with the children and should also be charged.
- Based upon the knowledge she had, there was no crisis or weapon.
- WATCH: Defense Says Others Share Blame for Teacher Shooting
- MORE: Ebony Parker’s defense points blame at teacher shot by student
- Abigail Zwerner, teacher shot by student
- Had previously had issues with J.T.; days before he broke her cell phone by smashing it.
- Observed J.T.’s behavior that day and brought her concerns to Parker.
- She was told by another staff member that J.T. may have been armed, which increased her concern.
- J.T. pointed the gun at her and fired once while students were present. The bullet went through her hand and into her chest.
- Was questioned by the defense about why she didn’t take action to separate J.T. from the other students if she had concerns.
- WATCH: Teacher Details Chilling Red Flags Before First Grader Shot Her
- Amy Kovac, reading specialist
- Students reported to her that a first-grader brought a gun to school, prompting her to alert his teacher.
- Thomas Blythe, Deputy
- Responded to the school after the shooting.
- A janitor opened the door for them; Blythe thought there was an active shooter.
- Briana Foster, Richneck Elementary School principal
- She was unaware there was a gun on campus on Jan. 6, 2023.
- Earlier that week, she called J.T.’s mother after an incident involving a cellphone.
- Conceded that she is ultimately in charge of students’ safety. She said she expected her staff to come to her if there was a crisis, but that didn’t happen on Jan. 6.
- If a student was being disruptive, a teacher could have brought them to the administrative office.
- Lawonda Sample-Rusk, eyewitness
- A grandmother of two children, she was at the school at the time of the shooting.
- A teacher ran into the office and said there was a shooting.
- She helped children to safety and saw Zwerner bleeding.
- Kelly Wells, forensic services technician
- Responds to major crime scenes to take photos and look for fingerprints or DNA.
- When she responded to the classroom, she saw a firearm on the floor by a table; in front of that was a backpack and a cartridge case.
- Jennifer West, teacher
- Observed J.T. acting suspiciously with another child during recess, including repeatedly going behind a rock wall and a tree.
- Another student reported that J.T. had threatened to “blow them up” and claimed he had a gun, prompting her to report her concerns to the front office.
- She heard a gunshot, opened her classroom door and saw students running from Zwerner’s classroom while Zwerner appeared injured and bleeding.
