The mother of a 6-year-old boy who allegedly shot his teacher is speaking out for the first time, saying she is "willing to take responsibility for him."
In an interview with ABC's Good Morning America, Deja Taylor said her son was a "great kid," but "very energetic" due to his diagnosis of ADHD. "He's off the wall. Doesn't sit still, ever," she added.
Taylor's son made national headlines this past January, when he allegedly shot his teacher, Abby Zwerner, in his classroom at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia. Zwerner is recovering from her injuries and has filed a $40 million lawsuit against the school, which she says ignored multiple warnings that Taylor's son had a gun.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Prosecutors have since charged Taylor with a felony count of child neglect and a misdemeanor count of recklessly leaving a firearm as to endanger a child. She could face up to six years in prison if convicted.
Taylor reiterated that she was willing to be responsible for her son's actions. She said he "actually really liked" Zwerner, but had recently "felt like he was being ignored."
While Zwerner's lawsuit alleges that the child had a "history of random violence" and that he "attacked students and teachers alike," Taylor's attorney, James Ellenson, said the shooting was ultimately the fault of the school. Ellenson alleges the school had enrolled Taylor's son in first grade, despite knowing he only attended two months each of preschool and kindergarten.
"If they believed all of these behaviors to be true, then they should not have allowed him" to move to a higher grade, Ellenson said. "They should've put him back into kindergarten, possibly even pre-K, but at the minimum to kindergarten."
Taylor said she had legally purchased the gun used in the shooting, and does not know how her son retrieved the weapon.
-
September 14 editorial cartoonsCartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include RFK Jr on the hook, the destruction of discourse, and more
-
Air strikes in the Caribbean: Trump’s murky narco-warTalking Point Drug cartels ‘don’t follow Marquess of Queensberry Rules’, but US military air strikes on speedboats rely on strained interpretation of ‘invasion’
-
A tour of Sri Lanka’s beautiful northThe Week Recommends ‘Less frenetic’ than the south, this region is full of beautiful wildlife, historical sites and resorts
-
Colleges are being overwhelmed with active shooter hoaxesIn the Spotlight More than a dozen colleges have reported active shooter prank calls
-
2 kids killed in shooting at Catholic school massSpeed Read 17 others were wounded during a morning mass at the Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis
-
Trump lambasts crime, but his administration is cutting gun violence preventionThe Explainer The DOJ has canceled at least $500 million in public safety grants
-
Insects and sewer water: the alleged conditions at 'Alligator Alcatraz'The Explainer Hundreds of immigrants with no criminal charges in the United States are being held at the Florida facility
-
Diddy: An abuser who escaped justice?Feature The jury cleared Sean Combs of major charges but found him guilty of lesser offenses
-
Australian woman found guilty of mushroom murdersspeed read Erin Patterson murdered three of her ex-husband's relatives by serving them toxic death cap mushrooms
-
Combs convicted on 2 of 5 charges, denied bailSpeed Read Sean 'Diddy' Combs was acquitted of the more serious charges of racketeering and sex trafficking
-
Sniper kills 2 Idaho firefighters in ambushSpeed Read A man started a wildfire, then fired a rifle at first responders when they arrived
