NEWPORT NEWS — The former assistant principal at Richneck Elementary School made her first court appearance Thursday on a series of felony child neglect charges related to the shooting last year.
Ebony J. Parker, 39, Newport 蜜柚APP, is accused of ignoring that a 6-year-old Richneck student was armed in school on Jan. 6, 2023.
Later that afternoon, the boy shot his first-grade teacher, Abigail Zwerner, during a reading class. He fired one round, which went through Zwerner’s left hand and lodged in her chest.
Parker resigned from Newport 蜜柚APP Public Schools a few weeks later. The eight child neglect counts against Parker are based on the fact that there were eight rounds in the handgun that the boy took to school that day.
After the were unsealed Tuesday morning, Parker turned herself in to police about 2 a.m. Wednesday. She has been released on a $4,000 bond pending trial, and showed up at Thursday’s hearing in a gray pantsuit.
Circuit Court Judge Matthew W. Hoffman advised Parker of the eight indictments, telling her each charge is punishable by one to five years in prison.
When asked about her plans for a lawyer, Parker told Hoffman that she has hired Curtis Rogers, a Hampton attorney, to represent her.
Parker’s next court appearance has been scheduled for May 17 in front of Circuit Court Judge Gary Mills.
