A mother from Virginia in the USA pleaded guilty on Monday to illegally obtaining the firearm with which her six-year-old son shot his teacher in January this year.
Deja Taylor was criminally charged in April after her child took this firearm to Richneck Elementary School and shot and seriously wounded his teacher, Abigail Zwerner (25).
Zwerner suffered wounds to her hand and chest in the incident and had to be treated in a hospital for two weeks.
Prosecutors said Monday that Taylor pleaded guilty to charges that she “unlawfully obtained and possessed” that firearm. She managed to do this by filling out false information on a form required by the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to purchase a firearm. Taylor indicated on this form that she uses “no illegal drugs” – one of the prerequisites for owning a firearm.
However, evidence obtained by investigators revealed that Taylor did regularly use marijuana.
These offenses can mean a sentence of up to 25 years in prison.
Officers found various forms of the drug in her mother’s home, where she lived at the time of the incident. Although the cultivation and possession of small amounts of marijuana is legal in Virginia, it is still illegal at the federal level.
Local prosecutors filed additional charges against Taylor in April, including child neglect. This followed shortly after the family said in a statement that the firearm in question was safely stored in the house. However, no lockbox was found at Taylor’s or her mother’s home. The case against Taylor continues.
RNews reported earlier that Zwerner is suing the school for $40 million (about R716 million).
She apparently repeatedly warned the school management about the child’s alleged violent behavior.
Apparently Zwerner also asked that the child be searched on the day in question after several teachers realized he had a firearm. However, this was not done.
