A 6-year-old shooter bodycam video has recently been made public, revealing shocking footage of a first-grader hurling insults at police officers after shooting his teacher in Virginia.
The newly released police bodycam footage captures the aftermath of the Jan 6, 2023 incident at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia, where a 6-year-old male student shot his teacher.
Shocking Bodycam Footage Reveals Child’s Defiant Behavior
In the video, when an officer asks where the gun is, the child responds with profanity and says it is over there. He then dares the officers to confront him, shouting more vulgar language and stating to the responding police that he does not care if backup is called or if he goes to jail.
When asked about the source of the firearm, the boy admitted that he took the gun from his mother.
Victim’s Ongoing Struggles and Legal Fallout
The victim, teacher Abigail Zwerner, suffered severe injuries to her hand and chest after the bullet passed through her hand and lodged near her chest. Medical professionals left the bullet inside her body because removal surgery was deemed too dangerous.
Zwerner testified in court that she believed she was dying immediately after being shot, and she has since left the teaching profession. A jury found former assistant principal Ebony Parker grossly negligent for ignoring warnings about the student possibly possessing a weapon, awarding Zwerner $10 million in damages, though criminal child neglect charges against Parker were dismissed.
The boy’s mother, Deja Taylor, was convicted of child neglect and federal firearm charges, receiving sentences of two and 21 months in 2023. The bodycam video, previously withheld during Parker’s criminal trial, was released following a court order.
