On January 2023, a 6-year-old boy brought a loaded handgun to his first-grade classroom at Richneck Elementary School in Virginia. He pointed the gun at his teacher, Abigail Zwerner, and shot her.
The teacher survived, but she was severely injured. Because the child was only 6 years old, he was too young to face criminal charges. His mother was later sent to prison for child neglect and lying on a gun purchase form.
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People were furious because it was revealed that the school had been warned multiple times that day that the boy might have a gun. Ebony Parker was the school’s assistant principal (the person in charge of discipline and safety). According to witnesses.
Teachers and staff told her three separate times that the boy had a gun or was acting dangerously. A school counselor asked for permission to search the boy’s bag, but Parker reportedly said no. Because she didn’t call the police or search the boy, prosecutors charged Parker with felony child neglect. They argued that her failure to act put all the children in that classroom in terrible danger.
This month, Parker’s criminal trial finally began. But on the fourth day of the trial, before the case was even finished, the judge stepped in and dismissed all charges, meaning Parker was set free.
Why? It wasn’t a crime by law: The judge explained that Virginia’s laws about “child neglect” were written for parents or daycares who mistreat kids. There is no law on the books that says a school principal can go to prison for making a bad decision during a school day.
The judge said that if people want school bosses to go to jail for ignoring warnings, politicians need to pass a new law first. A judge cannot invent a new crime.
While Ebony Parker cannot be sent to prison, she isn’t completely off the hook.
The injured teacher, Abigail Zwerner, sued the school system for $40 million. In late 2025, a jury agreed that the school was responsible and awarded Zwerner a multi-million dollar payout.
So, while the assistant principal won’t face criminal punishment (the slammer), the school system is still facing massive civil punishment (paying money) for letting the tragedy happen.