Unsealed Video Shows 6-Year-Old’s Defiance After Shooting Richneck Teacher

Newly unsealed police body camera footage released October 8 shows the chaotic moments after a 6-year-old boy shot his first-grade teacher, Abby Zwerner, at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia on January 6, 2023. The video captures officers entering the classroom where reading specialist Amy Kovac restrained the child as he cursed at staff and police. Zwerner was shot once, with the bullet passing through her hand and lodging in her chest.

What the body camera footage reveals

The less than three-minute video shows Newport News police officers entering Classroom 11 where the child, identified in court only as J.T., is being held by reading specialist Amy Kovac in a bear hug. Officers locate a 9mm Taurus handgun on the floor 15 to 20 feet from the boy. Throughout the footage, the boy repeatedly curses at Kovac and officers, telling them “I don’t care if you call backup and I don’t care if I go to jail.” Kovac informs officers the boy admitted to having a weapon and notes his age: “He is 6 years old.”

How the gun reached the classroom

According to prosecutors, the boy’s mother, Deja Taylor, legally purchased the 9mm Taurus handgun and left it unsecured in her purse. The boy stood on a dresser drawer to reach the gun and brought it to school in his backpack. In the body camera footage, when asked where the weapon came from, the boy tells officers, “My mom had that. I stole that from my mom.” Reading specialist Kovac also tells officers she had warned the assistant principal earlier that day about a threat involving a firearm.

The mother’s conviction and the civil verdict

Deja Taylor pleaded guilty to felony child neglect in December 2023 and was sentenced to two years in prison. She was released from state custody to community supervision in May 2026. In a separate civil trial, a jury awarded Zwerner $10 million in damages against the school’s former assistant principal, Ebony Parker, whom Zwerner said failed to act on concerns that the boy brought a gun to school in the hours before the shooting.

Zwerner’s injuries and current status

The bullet passed through Zwerner’s left hand before striking her chest. She spent weeks hospitalized and underwent multiple surgeries. Zwerner has not returned to teaching and became a licensed cosmetologist. She continues to experience physical difficulties with her left hand and anxiety that prevents her from returning to the profession. The boy was not criminally charged, according to Commonwealth’s Attorney Howard Gwynn, and is now in the custody of his great-grandfather. The body camera footage was previously used as evidence in court but had never been publicly released until October 8, 2026.

Final Thoughts

The unsealed video documents a serious breach in school safety protocols and parental responsibility. Zwerner’s $10 million civil verdict and Taylor’s prison sentence reflect the legal consequences, though the teacher’s permanent career loss underscores the lasting human cost of the incident.

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