NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Newport News officials are weighing in on a special grand jury's report into the 2023 shooting at Richneck Elementary School, where a 6-year-old fired a gun at his first-grade teacher, Abby Zwerner.
Officials released the grand jury's report on Wednesday, which detailed security issues and administrative failures leading up to, during and after the shooting on Jan. 6, 2023.
The findings came a day after 13News Now obtained an indictment of former Assistant Principal Ebony Parker on eight counts of child neglect for her alleged actions on the day of the shooting. According to the report, she ignored several warnings that the child brought a gun to school despite knowing about his behavioral problems.
Newport News Commonwealth's Attorney Howard Gwynn held a press conference Thursday at 11 a.m. to discuss the report, followed by a 1 p.m. press conference held by attorneys for Zwerner, who is suing Newport News Public Schools for $40 million.
Follow below for live coverage of the developments in this story.
4:45 p.m. — Prosecutor to families: 'We hear you, we see your trauma'
A criminal investigation into staff members at the Newport News school where a 6-year-old boy shot his teacher will continue, prosecutors said Thursday, one day after a former assistant principal was charged with felony child neglect.
“We’ll work with the school system to try to ferret out how this happened,” Newport News Commonwealth's Attorney Howard Gwynn said during Thursday morning's news conference. “And based on the facts of the law, if we believe somebody else needs to be charged, trust me when I tell you, they will be charged.”
Ebony Parker was charged in indictments unsealed Tuesday following a special grand jury report that says she showed a “shocking” lack of response to multiple warnings the boy had a gun in the hours before he shot teacher Abby Zwerner in her first-grade classroom.
But the grand jury focused on many other matters of concern, notably missing files – including disciplinary records – for the student who shot Zwerner. Every other student’s file was located at Richneck Elementary, but investigators could not find his, the report states.
"I agree that the files are missing.... obstruction of justice is a criminal charge that requires more certain elements," Gwynn noted. "What we'll do is that we will work with the school system to try and figure out how this happened, and based on the facts and the law if we believe someone else needs to be charged. Trust me when I tell you they will be charged."
The grand jury is no longer empaneled, but Gwynn said his office will continue investigating.
Finally, when asked about Zwerner and the other families at Richneck impacted by that January 2023 shooting, Gwynn said: "I think the statement that we make to Abby and to the families is that we hear you, we see your trauma, and any role that we can play to ensure that [justice] happens, that every resource in this office is being made available to you."
1:15 p.m. — Grand jurors said 'It aint over yet,' Zwerner's attorney says
Attorney Diane Toscano began the press conference by saying the report validates that Newport News school leadership won't escape accountability for the shooting.
"[The grand jury] reminded us that justice will prevail in this case," Toscano said.
Toscano praised the work of the grand jury and Newport News Commonwealth's Attorney Howard Gwynn, who she said were "steadfastly committed to getting justice for Abby and for those involved."
"It's clear that what the school board takes for granted, the citizens of Newport News will defend and that is the health and the safety of the Newport News students and the teachers that are dedicated to those students," Toscano said.
She continued by saying the shooting could have been avoided if school administrators hadn't been "paralyzed by apathy."
"When teachers and students say something and see something, school leaders must do something," Toscano said. "The administration of Richneck Elementary School failed to act."
Toscano said she learned several things from the report, the most troubling finding being the child's disciplinary records going missing after the shooting.
"The report lays out a concerning trail of evidence that apparently shows efforts by the school division to downplay disciplinary records prior to the shooting even taking place, and then hide them afterwards," Toscano said. "If the citizen panel believes this may have been a cover-up, which is their words, I have no reason to doubt them."
Regarding potential obstruction of justice, Toscano said the Newport News School Board needs to answer serious questions regarding the loose handling of disciplinary records.
"The public needs to know: Why does it seem that Richneck administration wanted to short circuit the school system's discipline record system?" Toscano said. "Who encouraged them to do that? Was the school system trying to downplay or hide behavior problems across the district? And for what purpose?"
Toscano also called for an investigation from the Virginia Department of Education and the federal U.S. Department of Education into many details revealed in the report.
Another of Zwerner's attorneys, Kevin Biniazan, said he hopes the grand jury's report will help people realize how school leadership behaved leading up to the Richneck Elementary School shooting, and how it aligns with the former teacher's lawsuit.
12:30 p.m. — Zwerner's attorneys to hold 1 p.m. press conference
The legal team for Abby Zwerner is planning to hold their own press conference at 1 p.m. to discuss the findings of the special grand jury's report into the 2023 Richneck Elementary School shooting.
Following the report's release Wednesday, Attorneys Diane Toscano, Kevin Biniazan, and Jeffrey Breit shared the following statement.
"The grand jury report reveals a systemic failure that led to the shooting of Abby Zwerner. Most shocking is the apparent cover up of disciplinary records before and after the shooting. We are grateful for the work of the special grand jury and the answers they have provided this community."
11:40 a.m. — Statute of limitation for obstruction may have passed, prosecutors suggest
When asked about possible obstruction of justice in the missing student files, an attorney with the Newport News Commonwealth's Attorney's Office said the statute of limitation is one year from the date the offense occurred.
"An investigation would reveal when exactly acts of obstruction occurred, if they did, and whether they were ongoing in nature or not," Attorney Josh Jenkins said.
He also said an investigation could uncover if other crimes were committed or not.
11:35 a.m. — Gwynn criticizes Richneck principal's immediate response to Zwerner being shot
Gwynn was asked about how Richneck's principal reacted as Zwerner came to the school's front office with a gunshot wound.
After the shooting, Zwerner walked from her classroom to the main office, where she passed out in front of Principal Briana Foster-Newton's office door. Foster-Newton had closed the door after someone came to the office to say someone had been shot, the report said.
"I think anybody in this room, anybody in this city, anybody who reads that report should be disturbed by it, assuming it's true," Gwynn said. "Because part of the responsibility of administrators is to ensure the safety of their staff, to set the example."
11:30 a.m. — Gwynn expresses hope report will bring peace to Zwerner, Richneck families
Gwynn said he hopes this report and charges will bring some level of peace to Abby Zwerner and every Richneck Elementary School family.
11:15 a.m. — Prosecutors working with NNPS to determine what happened with missing files
When asked about the child's records going missing after the shooting, Gwynn said his office is working with Newport News Public Schools to determine what happened.
Investigators had sought physical files regarding the child, one in the school's main office and the other in Zwerner's classroom. But when law enforcement executed a search warrant, the report says the files weren't found in either location.
It was later discovered that Director of Elementary School Leadership LaQuiche Parrott had the files. While she returned the files, they were missing all the child's disciplinary records, according to the grand jury report. The jurors recommended a continued investigation into how Parrott obtained the files to see if she should be charged with criminal justice.
When asked if he agreed, Gwynn responded: "I agree that the files are missing. Obstruction of justice is a criminal charge that requires certain elements."
In the press conference, Gwynn said his office would work with Newport News Public Schools to figure out how the files went missing, and if someone else needs to be charged, "they will be charged."
11:10 a.m. — Gwynn says grand jury report was thorough, brutally honest
The commonwealth's attorney praised the grand jury as ordinary citizens who took on an extraordinary task and "did an amazing job."
"If you read the report, then you know they were thorough and they took it seriously," Gywnn said.
Gwynn expounded on why the grand jury had to be impaneled, calling it the best solution to answering tough questions about the shooting. He also noted that the grand jury specifically requested their findings to be made public.
"We called on the collective wisdom of the citizens of our community," Gwynn said. "So, we did that. Because the most effective way to do that was to ask that a special grand jury be impaneled."
Gwynn said those who read the report may have found aspects of it to be troubling, including the refusal by administrators to approve student transfers after the shooting.
"We are troubled as well," Gwynn said.
While Gwynn noted the report is full of bad news, he said there is good news, too. He praised the new superintendent for Newport News Public Schools, Dr. Michele Mitchell, as committed to changing the situation. Mitchell took on an interim role in January 2023 and became permanent on Aug. 3, 2023.
11:05 a.m. — Newport News Commonwealth's Attorney Howard Gwynn takes the podium
Gwynn started his press conference Thursday morning by reading the statement released earlier in the day by the Newport News School Board. He noted that Newport News Public Schools declined to send a representative to attend the press conference due to pending litigation.
He also thanked Newport News law enforcement for their quick response to the shooting, as well as the grand jury for their participation in investigating.
Gwynn gave a shoutout to the first two deputies who responded to the shooting, who also attended the press conference.
"Their quick response is a credit to [Sheriff Gabriel Morgan], who has trained and mentored and support folks," Gwynn said.
10:40 a.m. — Ebony Parker hearing ends
The former assistant principal of Richneck Elementary School appeared in court Thursday morning for a hearing that lasted less than 10 minutes.
During the hearing, a Newport News judge informed Parker of her indictment for child neglect, with each count carrying a maximum jail sentence of five years. Because she faces eight counts, she could be looking at a maximum of 40 years.
The case will return to court on May 17.
9:10 a.m. — Newport News School Board responds to grand jury report
A spokesperson for Newport News Public Schools released the following statement on behalf of school board members Thursday morning:
"We thank the Special Grand Jury for their Report on the investigation of the January 6, 2023 Richneck Elementary School Shooting and for their recommendations. We have implemented a number of positive changes since this incident and will continue to do so in the future.
Safety of students and staff remain a top priority for the School Board."
7 a.m. — Zwerner's attorney speaks on Good Morning America about grand jury report
An attorney representing the teacher who was shot by her 6-year-old student at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News is responding to a grand jury report that laid out mistakes made by security and administrators leading up to the day of the shooting.
In an interview with Good Morning America Thursday, Abby Zwerner's attorney, Diane Toscano, spoke on the implications of the report made by a special grand jury.
"They failed to act and it was preventable," she said, in pat. "That's just what is heartbreaking, that this could have been prevented. The special grand jury even says in their report that this was an avoidable event. There's just no dispute; this could have been prevented."
6 a.m. — What we know about the Richneck Elementary shooting grand jury report
The report released Wednesday detailed the reasons why former Assistant Principal Ebony Parker was charged with eight counts of child neglect, accusing her of ignoring four warnings that the child brought a gun to school on the day of the shooting on Jan. 6, 2023.
A day before the report was released, 13News Now obtained court documents showing that Parker, 39, was indicted on March 11, citing "reckless disregard for human life" while being responsible for students at Richneck Elementary School.
"Over the course of approximately two hours, Dr. Parker acted in complete disregard for the safety of all the children in Ms. Zwerner's class, all the children the child played with at recess, and all the children who could have been shot in the school," the jurors wrote in their report.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.