Deja Taylor, the mother of a 6-year-old boy who shot his first-grade teacher, pled guilty Tuesday to a single charge of felony child neglect.
The unidentified boy garnered national headlines when he shot his teacher Abby Zwerner while she was reading a book to her class at Richneck Elementary School in Virginia.
The 25-year-old former educator was shot in her hand and chest and hospitalized in serious condition. She has since recovered from her wounds.
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Zwerner was fired in June after she filed a $40 million lawsuit against the school district.
Police responding to a 911 call from the school said the child was restrained by another teacher when they arrived. A gun was on the floor with the slide open and additional bullets in the magazine.
As the officers entered the classroom, the boy yelled, “F**k you! I shot that b***h,” then he broke free and punched the female staff member in the face, the police report says.
Taylor reportedly told police she asked her son how he got the gun. The boy replied he “stood on a drawer of her dresser, reached into her purse, and took it.”
It was the second time in the past two months that Taylor pled guilty to charges relating to the January 6 shooting.
In June, Taylor pleaded guilty in federal court to possessing a firearm and marijuana while lying on a federal gun background check form about her drug use.
In July 2022, Taylor checked a box on a form indicating that she was not “an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug or any other controlled substance,” according to court documents.
However, Taylor is a heavy marijuana smoker, according to court documents.
She is due to be sentenced in that case on Oct. 18. Prosecutors have agreed to ask for a term between 18 months and two years in prison.
The child neglect charge Taylor pleaded guilty to on Tuesday carries a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison, the DailyPress.com reports.
Sentencing on that charge is scheduled for Oct. 27.
