6-year-old boy who shot first-grade teacher bragged about it, search warrant states

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — A 6-year-old Virginia boy who shot his first-grade teacher in January later bragged in a conversation that he had pulled the trigger, according to unsealed search warrants.

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According to the documents obtained by WTKR-TV, the child told a school official that “I shot that (expletive) dead” after he turned a gun on Richneck Elementary School teacher Abigail Zwermer on Jan. 6.

“I did it,” the boy told school officials in Newport News, according to an affidavit. “I got my mom’s gun last night.”

Authorities were called to the school just before 2 p.m. EDT on Jan. 6 after police said a student intentionally shot Zwermer as she was teaching her class. Police said the single shot went through her hand and into her chest.

The bullet went through Zwerner’s left hand -- which she held up as the boy opened fire -- and then struck her in the upper chest and shoulder, according to the Virginian-Pilot.

Zwermer filed a $40 million lawsuit against the Newport News School Board and several former administrators in April, WAVY-TV reported. Zwermer’s attorney, Diane Toscano, alleged gross negligence and reckless breach of duty against the school board and three former administrators at the school. The suit accused school officials of failing to protect Zwerner against the student despite multiple warnings.

According to the affidavit, police interviewed Zwermer at the hospital hours after the shooting, the Virginian-Pilot reported. The teacher told detectives that she was breaking her class into reading groups after recess when the boy pulled a gun from his hoodie pocket and pointed it at her.

“What are you doing with that?” Zwerner asked, according to the affidavit.

The boy paused, then fired a single shot, the Virginian-Pilot reported. Students ran out of the classroom, along with Zwermer. A school reading specialist, Amy Kovac, ran into the classroom, the affidavit stated.

Kovac saw the boy standing by his desk with a loaded 9 mm handgun on the floor, according to the affidavit. She grabbed the child and held him until authorities arrived.

Zwerner allegedly told investigators there had been multiple “disciplinary incidents” involving the boy before the shooting, WTKR reported. The incidents allegedly involved physical violence and threats of violence, which had been reported to school administrators.

In April, the mother of the boy, Deja Nicole Taylor, 25, of Newport News, was charged with felony neglect and a misdemeanor count of recklessly leaving a firearm so as to endanger a child, the Virginian-Pilot reported.