A mother, whose 6-year-old son had seriously injured his teacher in January with a firearm, pleaded guilty on Monday before American justice in this case which had shocked the United States.
Deja Taylor, 25, admitted to having illegally purchased and possessed the offending weapon while denying his use of cannabis, the federal prosecutor’s office in charge of the case said in a press release. In October, she will experience her sentence in this section.
In a separate investigation, conducted by the local prosecutor’s office, she is being prosecuted for “parental failure” and “endangering a minor by leaving a loaded firearm accessible” and is awaiting trial.
On January 6, 2023, his son pulled a 9mm Taurus pistol from his school bag and shot his teacher, 25-year-old Abigail Zwerner.
The young woman had been hospitalized for two weeks with hand and chest injuries. Beyond the student’s age, the case had shocked because the police had described the shooting as “intentional”.
In a press release published shortly after the tragedy, his parents had assured that their firearm was stored in a “secure” place and that their son “suffered from an acute handicap” requiring special care.
At the beginning of April, Abigail Zwerner filed a civil complaint against the school authorities, which she accuses of having ignored warnings about the violent behavior of this student. She is claiming $40 million in damages.
The United States, where nearly 400 million weapons are in circulation, are regularly bereaved by shootings in schools.
But it is very rare that shooters are so young. “Only” about fifteen children under the age of ten have opened fire in schools since the 1970s, according to the database of researcher David Riedman, who is a reference on the subject.