Three months after a 6-year-old in Newport News, Virginia shot his first-grade teacher, police have arrested the boy's mother and charged her with child neglect and failing to properly secure her handgun.
Associated Press said it "isn't naming the mother to shield the identity of her son." However, citing a Newport News release, ABC News and others have identified her as 25-year-old Deja Taylor. Saying she exhibited a "reckless disregard for human life," prosecutors are asking for bail to be set at $5,000. She has no prior criminal record.
In Virginia, it's a misdemeanor crime to leave a loaded gun accessible to a child under 14, with a penalty of up to a year in prison and a $2,500 fine. However, the child neglect charge is a felony. Together, she faces up to a six-year sentence.
On Jan. 6, 25-year-old first-grade teacher Abby Zwerner was critically wounded when the boy shot her once with his mother's 9mm Taurus handgun, which she'd legally purchased. Zwerner was seated at a table when the boy -- who'd firmly established a pattern of behavior problems and disturbing incidents with staff and students -- suddenly opened fire.
While there was no confrontation immediately before the shooting, it came one day after the boy was issued a one-day suspension for breaking Zwerner's cell phone.
Earlier, the shooter's parents claimed the pistol had a trigger lock and was "secured" on the top shelf of the mother's closet. They also said they've "always been committed to responsible gun ownership and keeping firearms out of the reach of children."
Last month, the Newport News prosecutor announced he would not press charges against the six-year-old. Prosecutor Howard Gwynn said the "prospect that a 6-year-old can stand trial is problematic" because, at that age, a child can't comprehend the legal system or collaborate with an attorney working to defend him.
The young shooter is said to have an "acute disability." He'd already established a pattern of behavior problems and troubling incidents with students and staff alike, including throwing furniture and other objects, and writing a note to a teacher in which he said he wanted to kill her by setting her on fire.
On Tuesday, prosecutors announced they're assessing whether "actions or omissions" of school employees amount to criminal acts. Meanwhile, critically wounded with a single shot that passed through her hand and struck her chest, Zwerner has filed a $40 million lawsuit against the school.
On the day of the shooting, a school staff member searched his backpack on a tip that the child might be packing heat. They didn't find it, and administrators chose not to involve the police. The search happened around 11:30 am and the shooting took place about two-and-a-half hours later.
Other school staff members have spoken out against school officials' disregard of warnings about the shooter and a tendency to ignore other problem students in a drive to bolster the school's ratings.