Newport News, Virginia — A former Virginia elementary school assistant principal is scheduled to stand trial Monday on criminal charges tied to the 2023 shooting of first-grade teacher Abby Zwerner by a six-year-old student who brought a loaded handgun to school.
Ebony Parker faces eight felony child neglect charges, with prosecutors arguing she ignored repeated warnings from school staff that the child may have possessed a gun before the shooting occurred at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News. Each charge carries a possible sentence of up to five years in prison.
According to court records and prior testimony, multiple staff members reportedly alerted Parker about concerns involving the student and the possibility that he had a firearm in his backpack. Prosecutors allege Parker failed to take sufficient action before the child later shot Zwerner in her classroom…