NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — A new date was set for a criminal child neglect case surrounding the 2023 Richneck Elementary School shooting.
Former Richneck assistant principal Ebony Parker appeared in Newport News Circuit Court, months after she was indicted with eight counts of child abuse with disregard for life.
In court on Monday, a jury trial date for Parker was set for February 19 and 20, 2025.
Parker's charges came from a special grand jury on March 11. According to the court documents, Parker showed "a reckless disregard for human life" while being responsible for students on Jan. 6, 2023, the day a 6-year-old student shot his first-grade teacher, Abby Zwerner.
Shortly after the 2023 shooting, Parker resigned from the school.
Zwerner survived the shooting and has filed a $40 million lawsuit against Newport News Public Schools, alleging the school division’s negligence allowed the shooting to happen and that the assistant principal ignored several warnings the boy had a gun that day.
According to the lawsuit, several teachers warned Parker on at least three separate occasions the student may have had a gun on him hours before the shooting.
The lawsuit claims that Parker told teachers the boy, "has small pockets," implying he couldn't hide a gun in his clothing. Zwerner's attorneys also claim an hour before the shooting, a school counselor asked the assistant principal to check the 6-year-old for a gun, a request which they said Parker dismissed.
The trial for Zwerner's lawsuit is slated to begin on Jan. 21, 2025, which will mark just over two years since the shooting and about a month before Parker's criminal trial is scheduled for.
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