For the Defense - Vol. 9, Issue 3 - 30

Authorities allege that there was an " altercation " between the
child and Zwerner before the shooting, which led the child to
remove the firearm from his backpack and fire a shot through
Zwerner's left hand and into her chest. Despite Zwerner's injuries
initially being considered life-threatening, she did eventually
make a recovery after a series of five surgeries to return use
and motion to her hand. Aside from the unfortunate wounds
to Zwerner, no other shots were fired nor were other persons
injured.14
Although the Commonwealth of Virginia prohibits persons
from recklessly leaving a loaded firearm in an unsecured fashion
that endangers the life or safety of children under the age of 14,
there is no law in the state requiring unattended firearms to be
stored in any fashion or to be locked in any specific manner.
Pursuant to Virigina law, in order for a minor to be tried as
an adult, they must be at least 14 years of age.15
Virginia is also
typically a follower of the common law doctrine referred to as
the " Infancy Defense " wherein children under the age of 7 are
considered to be incapable of forming the requisite criminal
intent to commit a crime and are thus unable to be criminally
prosecuted. As such, rather than attempt to bring criminal charges
against a 6-year-old child, both state and federal prosecutors filed
charges against the boy's mother, Deja Taylor.16
Taylor's 6-year-old son told authorities under questioning that
he obtained the firearm in question by climbing onto a drawer
in his mother's bedroom to reach the top of her dresser where
he knew the gun was kept in Taylor's purse. After obtaining the
weapon, he hid it in his backpack and then in his pocket prior to
brandishing it in his first-grade classroom and ultimately shooting
his teacher. Taylor initially stated to the authorities that she always
kept the firearm safely secured with a trigger lock device, but the
investigating officers claimed to have never found such a device.17
Taylor's son also had a documented history of behavioral issues
which prosecutors claimed Taylor ignored. Further, a grand jury
report indicated that even though Taylor's son had " enough
documented behavioral problems... to have him removed from
the school the year prior, the child was placed in Ms. Zwerner's
first-grade class " regardless. Prosecutors further alleged that the
child's shooting of Ms. Zwerner was an intentional act by him;
relying in part on statements he made when police arrived at the
school to the effect of: " I shot that (expletive) dead " and " I got
my mom's gun last night " , as well as " My mom had that [the gun]
... I stole it because I needed to shoot my teacher. " 18
Taylor pled guilty and was sentenced in November of 2023 to
21 months in federal prison for using marijuana while owning
a firearm-an act
prohibited under United States
federal
law, despite Virginia being the first southern state to legalize
marijuana use. During their investigation, the prosecution
discovered marijuana in Taylor's bedroom, as well as additional
evidence of frequent drug use through the discovery of drug
paraphernalia in her home and additional evidence of use in
her text messages on her cell phone. The U.S. District Judge who
sentenced Taylor to the 21 months of imprisonment stated that
there was a " direct line " between the shooting of Zwerner and
Taylor's use of marijuana while owning a firearm; claiming that
the minor child would never have had the opportunity to obtain
the gun if Taylor had obeyed the law regarding marijuana use
while owning a firearm.19
30 For The Defense l Vol. 9, Issue 3
In response to her state charges of felony child neglect and
recklessly storing a firearm, Taylor pled guilty to the felony count
of child neglect and was sentenced on December 15, 2023, to
two years in state prison as a result. Despite the fact that Taylor's
negotiated guilty plea with the prosecutors only called for a
maximum potential of six months incarceration and the two-year
sentence being beyond the high end of Virigina's state sentencing
guidelines (which permit a maximum sentence of up to 5 years),
the sentencing judge claimed that the sentencing guidelines did
not account for the incident's physical and psychological toll on
the victim nor the emotional trauma it inflicted upon the other
students at the school.20
The sentencing judge further stated that it was lucky that
no one at the school was killed and claimed that a parent's
responsibility is to " protect the child, to keep them from bad
influences, to keep them from dangerous situations, to keep
them healthy and nurtured " and that Taylor " abdicated most, if
not all of those responsibilities. " 21
In addition to the charges against Taylor, the child's teacher
sued the Newport News Public Schools for $40 million claiming
that the school administrators ignored multiple warnings that the
child had a gun at the school on the day of the shooting prior to
the incident occurring. A Special Grand Jury was convened on this
incident in March of 2023. Its report indicated that the shooting
was an " avoidable situation " due to, among other reasons, a
disturbing lack of response by the school's now-former assistant
principal Ebony Parker, despite Parker allegedly receiving several
warnings about Taylor's son being in possession of the firearm at
school that day.22
The Special Grand Jury indicted and charged Parker with eight
counts of child abuse and disregard for life. The Special Grand
Jury report noted that Parker received four separate reports on
the day of the incident about Taylor's son having a gun on the
school property but that she neglected to take any action after
receiving the reports. If convicted, Parker could face up to 40
years in prison.23
Other Notable Nationwide Cases
Indiana: The Yorks
In 2018, Mary Ann York's 14-year-old son fired shots inside
of Dennis Intermediate School in Richmond, Indiana at police
officers who had cornered him in a stairwell before turning the
gun on himself and taking his own life. York's son had brought
both a pistol and a rifle to school that day that he had obtained
from his family home. The boy's mother Mary Ann pled guilty
to four counts of child neglect for not removing guns from her
home after her son had allegedly threatened to kill students
and for failing to ensure that he received counseling and took
his required medications for his mental health issues. York was
sentenced to 2½ years of probation that also included 60 hours
of community service.24
Washington: The Frybergs
In 2014, Jaylen Fryberg, then 15 years old, used one of his
father's six firearms to kill four classmates as well as himself at
his high school in Washington State. Following the shooting,
Fryberg's father Raymond was charged and convicted for
illegally possessing firearms, although not directly charged with
For the Defense - Vol. 9, Issue 3

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of For the Defense - Vol. 9, Issue 3
