Judge dismisses charges against ex-school administrator in Virginia shooting case

A Newport News judge threw out every charge against Ebony Parker on Thursday, ending the criminal case against the former Richneck Elementary School assistant principal even as the central question in the shooting remains unresolved: what legal duty did school leaders have when warnings pointed to a 6-year-old with a gun?

Circuit Judge Rebecca Robinson granted a defense motion to strike all eight counts of felony child neglect on the fourth day of Parker’s trial in Newport News, Virginia. Prosecutors had argued that each count matched one of the eight bullets in the 9mm handgun the child carried into class. Each count carried a possible sentence of up to five years in prison.

Robinson ruled that the conduct alleged was not a crime as charged under current Virginia law and said the legislature would have to codify that kind of conduct if it is to be criminalized. The decision leaves intact the broader public safety question raised by the case, namely how schools are expected to document, escalate and act on imminent threats before a tragedy unfolds.

The case stemmed from the Jan. 6, 2023 shooting at Richneck Elementary School, when a 6-year-old student shot first-grade teacher Abby Zwerner. The bullet passed through Zwerner’s hand and entered her chest. In later civil testimony, Zwerner said the bullet remains in her body, and testimony also said she has permanent injury to her hand and that her expected lifespan was shortened.

During the trial, prosecutors said school staff had warned administrators multiple times that day that the boy may have had a gun. Parker’s defense said she had been told only that a weapon might be in the child’s backpack and that a search had not found a gun. Parker broke down in tears when the judge dismissed the case.

The criminal dismissal does not affect Zwerner’s separate civil case. A Newport News jury awarded her $10 million in November 2025 after she had sued for $40 million. The shooting also triggered a major upheaval inside Newport News Public Schools in early 2023: Richneck’s principal, Briana Foster Newton, was reassigned, Parker resigned and Superintendent George Parker was removed by the school board.

Richneck later reopened with new precautions, including a metal detector at the entrance. The child’s mother, Deja Taylor, later pleaded guilty and was convicted in related state and federal gun cases. Together, the courtroom ruling and the earlier district shakeup leave a hard policy question hanging over Virginia schools: if repeated warnings about a child with a gun do not meet the criminal threshold, what accountability exists before the next warning turns into a shooting?