Judge dismisses charges against former school official in case of 6-year-old who shot teacher

(CNN) — A Virginia circuit court judge on Thursday dismissed criminal charges against Ebony Parker, a former elementary school assistant principal, in a case connected to a 6-year-old boy who shot his teacher in January 2023.

Prosecutors had alleged Parker ignored warnings that the boy had a gun shortly before the shooting, but her defense argued the allegations were not criminal. Circuit Court Judge Rebecca Robinson agreed with the defense in dismissing the case.

“The court is of the legal opinion that this is not a crime,” she said.

Parker put her head down on the defendant’s table and appeared to be sobbing.

The case was dismissed with prejudice, meaning it cannot be brought to trial again, an official familiar with the ruling said.

CNN has reached out to prosecutors and the defense for comment.

The charges stem from the January 6, 2023, shooting at Richneck Elementary School in Virginia in which the child shot and wounded his first-grade teacher, Abby Zwerner. The boy had taken the unsecured gun from his mother’s purse and brought it to school in his backpack, officials have said.

Parker had pleaded not guilty to eight counts of felony child abuse and disregard for life – one for each bullet in the child’s gun. She faced up to five years in prison on each charge.

The charges alleged she committed “a willful act or omission in the care of such students, in a manner so gross, wanton and culpable as to show a reckless disregard for human life,” according to court documents.

Parker’s criminal trial is one of a number of cases in recent years that have tested the limits of who is responsible when a juvenile carries out a school shooting. Parents in Michigan and Georgia have been convicted of serious charges, while law enforcement officers accused of inaction in Parkland and Uvalde have been acquitted by juries.

Parker appears to be the first school educator to face trial in such circumstances.

The 6-year-old boy’s mother, Deja Taylor, pleaded guilty to a state charge of felony child neglect and federal gun charges related to the Virginia school shooting. She served multiple years in custody and was released last week. Prosecutors have said the boy, who has “extreme emotional issues,” will not be criminally charged.

Elyse Hershon, a defense attorney who followed Parker’s trial, said the dismissal of Parker’s case suggests legal accountability for school shootings may not go beyond the parents.

“It’s putting a limit on this recent trend of expanding accountability for these horrific events at the school,” she said. “Right now, in terms of the judiciary and in terms of the legal process, they’re kind of stopping it, limiting it at the parents.”

Trial lasted just a few days

The precedent-setting trial began with opening statements Tuesday, and the prosecution called 16 witnesses in all, including school teachers, law enforcement officers and parents.

Several educators testified they told Parker about suspicions the child, who had a history of behavioral issues, had a firearm at school. Parker directed an educator to search the boy’s backpack, but she recommended against searching the child’s pockets until his mother came to the school, according to testimony.

“There was only one person in the school that day that had both the authority to act and the knowledge of the ongoing crisis, and that person you will see was Dr. Parker,” Assistant Commonwealth Attorney Josh Jenkins said in opening statements.

In contrast, Parker’s defense flipped the case on its head and accused the teachers, including Zwerner, of being the ones who failed to take proper action to protect students.

“If the commonwealth wants to accuse Dr. Parker, what about these other people that had direct contact with this child?” defense attorney Curtis Rogers said in opening statements.

Witness testimony was repeatedly interrupted by defense objections about what evidence should or should not be allowed. Unusually, the attorneys and judge debated the merits of that evidence in front of the jury – leading one juror to tell the court he was confused.

The prosecution rested its case Wednesday afternoon. On Thursday morning, prior to presenting its own evidence, the defense asked the judge to dismiss the case, saying the prosecution had not established a crime had occurred.

Speaking from the bench, the judge said the legal basis for the charges was unclear. Judge Robinson said she was not sure if the charges were connected to the unfired bullets in the gun, the children in the class, their psychological trauma afterward, or Parker’s knowledge of the child’s prior issues.

“The court is unclear. As previously stated, those legal theories do not fit the plain reading of the statute,” she said. “Therefore, I do grant the defense motion to strike in whole on all counts.”

Hershon, the legal expert, said she was surprised by the judge’s reasoning in dismissing the charges and her timing, after the prosecution had presented its case.

“If something is not a crime, or something that someone’s charged with doesn’t constitute a crime, or there’s not enough evidence, that’s a motion to dismiss way before the trial even starts,” she said. “It was interesting that this judge basically dismissed the case for a motion that could have or should have been dealt with before, not after, the whole trial.”

Differences from civil case

The dismissal in the criminal case is a stark change from the results of a similar civil case, underscoring the differences between the two venues.

Last November, a civil jury awarded Zwerner $10 million in a lawsuit alleging Parker failed to act on concerns that the student had brought a gun to school. Parker has filed an appeal in that case.

In the civil trial, Zwerner offered emotional testimony about the shooting and its impact on her physical and mental health. “I thought I was dying. I thought I had died,” she said through tears.

But in the criminal trial, Zwerner was considered a witness, not a victim, and her testimony was limited to what she observed in school that day.

She testified she was concerned when she heard a 6-year-old boy may have a firearm. Yet on cross-examination, she admitted she still allowed the boy to go to recess with other children when she could have removed him from the class.

“In hindsight, yes I could have,” Zwerner said.

Parker did not testify in either trial, although her comments to a human resources representative days after the shooting were played in her criminal trial Wednesday. In that interview, she said she couldn’t leave her office to personally search the boy because of testing. She also advised two educators not to search the boy’s pockets until his mother came to school.

Zwerner’s civil attorneys issued a statement reacting to the dismissal.

“This was always the Commonwealth’s criminal case — not Abby’s civil case. Abby complied with the subpoena requiring her testimony once again, despite the emotional toll of repeatedly reliving this tragedy,” attorneys Diane Toscano, Kevin Biniazan and Jeffrey Breit said in a statement.

“From the beginning, our focus has remained on obtaining justice in civil court for the preventable failures that led to Abby being shot. A Newport News jury has already spoken, returning a $10 million verdict in Abby’s favor.”

This story has been updated with additional information.

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CNN’s Jean Casarez and Brian Todd contributed to this report.