Mother of 6-year-old who shot teacher pleads guilty to gun violations

The mother of a 6-year-old who shot his first-grade teacher in a Virginia classroom pleaded guilty Monday to federal criminal charges of using marijuana while possessing a firearm and making false statements about drug use when she had the gun bought.

The mother, Deja Taylor, was previously indicted by a grand jury in Virginia on criminal charges of neglect and endangerment, in connection with her son’s access to the gun he used in the shooting.

This time, federal authorities focused on her purchase and ownership of the gun, which, she admitted in her plea Monday, was illegal given the extent of her marijuana use. While recreational marijuana is allowed in Virginia, federal laws prohibit addicted or “illegitimate” drug users from owning a gun.

The charges, which came in last week, are the latest development in a case that has drawn national attention amid charged debates over guns and school safety. The January shooting at a first-grade classroom in Newport News, Virginia, stunned the community because of the child’s age and raised questions about the school’s response and the boy’s access to the gun.

The teacher, Abigail Zwerner, was in the middle of a routine lesson when, according to police, the boy pulled out the gun, pointed it at her and fired. A single bullet passed through her hand and hit her chest; she was seriously injured but survived.

The child has not been charged.

According to court documents filed Monday, federal agents searched a garbage can at Ms. Taylor’s home days after the shooting and “found large amounts of marijuana and packaging for marijuana edibles.” They later found marijuana in Mrs. Taylor’s bag and in a bedroom of a house where she was staying with her mother. Prosecutors said Ms. Taylor admitted “that her chronic use of marijuana was not recreational and influenced her behavior.”

In July 2022, when Ms. Taylor purchased the gun from Winfree Firearms in Yorktown, Virginia, she checked a box on a form indicating that she was not an “unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any other depressant, stimulant, narcotics or other controlled substance,” court documents said.

That allegation led to federal charges last week of making a false statement when purchasing a firearm and unlawfully using a controlled substance while possessing a gun.

Initially, police said the gun was bought legally by Ms. Taylor. A lawyer for the family, James Ellenson, said that the gun was stored on a top shelf of the mother’s bedroom closet and had a trigger lock.

Gene Rossi, also a lawyer for Ms Taylor, said on Monday the case was “a perfect storm with terrible consequences”.

He added that sentencing on the federal charges was expected in October and that both sides agreed the sentence would not exceed 24 months in prison. Prosecutors from the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The trial on the state charges is expected to begin in August.

“Her role in this tragedy is a complete mistake and an accident,” said Mr. Rossi. “However, she accepts all responsibility for her son’s actions and has tremendous guilt over what happened.”