Mother of boy, 6, who shot Virginia teacher pleads guilty to child neglect

The mother of a six-year-old boy who shot his teacher in a Virginia classroom has pleaded guilty to child neglect.

Another charge of reckless storage of a firearm against Deja Taylor has been dropped.

As part of the plea deal prosecutors said they would not seek a sentence longer than six months.

The teacher, Abby Zwerner, was shot in the hand and chest in January but survived after multiple operations.

She claims Richneck Elementary ignored warnings the child had brought a gun to school and is suing for $40m (£32m).

Police in the town of Newport News said the boy had carried the weapon in his backpack.

According to warrants filed in the case, he told a reading specialist who restrained him: “I shot that (expletive) dead,” and “I got my mom’s gun last night.”

Prosecutor Joshua Jenkins told Tuesday’s plea hearing the boy had said he got the weapon by climbing on a dresser drawer to reach his mother’s handbag.

The court heard he had a defiance disorder and had previously taken her car keys, as well as indications from a child protection report that he had played with a gun at his grandmother’s house.

Taylor told police she thought the gun was still in her handbag and secured with a trigger lock – with the key under her mattress, according to search warrants.

However, authorities said they never found a trigger lock during searches.

Taylor also pleaded guilty in June to possessing a firearm while using cannabis, in a separate but related federal case.

Her lawyer, James Ellenson, has argued there are mitigating factors including her miscarriages, anxiety and postpartum depression.

He said he would address these at the sentencing hearing on 27 October and that the boy is now with his great-grandfather.

Taylor told Good Morning America in May that she felt responsible for the shooting and apologised to the teacher.

She said her son had attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and was meant to have a parent with him in class.

However, Taylor said the week of the shooting was the first time he went unaccompanied as he’d been showing signs of improvement.