NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Dr. Ebony Parker, the former assistant principal at Richneck Elementary School found grossly negligent in a lawsuit filed by Abby Zwerner, the teacher shot by a 6-year-old student, has had her criminal trial pushed out to May 2026.
Originally scheduled to begin Monday, Nov. 17, just 11 days after a Newport News jury issued its verdict in favor of Zwerner, Parker will now have a long break before she faces another judge.
Court officials confirmed the change in an email to WTKR News 3 on Wednesday afternoon. There will be a motions hearing on April 26, 2026 with the jury trial expected from May 18-21.
watch: Zwerner's team tells reporters they are happy with civil trial outcome
Parker is accused of felony child neglect for her alleged inaction in preventing the first grade student from shooting Zwerner in a classroom. Prosecutors with the Commonwealth charged her with eight counts: one for every bullet in the gun.
No students were reported to have been harmed the day the boy, named "JT" in court, pulled out a gun around 2 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2023, and fired a shot that tore through her hand and pierced her chest, nearly killing her.
Watch: Abby Zwerner's full testimony in her civil trial against Ebony Parker
That bullet, medical experts say, will remain in Zwerner's body — inches from her spine and vital organs — until the day she dies because it is too dangerous to remove.
The jury in the civil trial, which found Parker to be grossly negligent due to her awareness of the reported gun, assessed Zwerner's damages at $10 million.
Parker did not take the stand in the civil trial and has not made any public statements since the verdict on Thursday.
Richneck Shooting
TIMELINE: The shooting of Abby Zwerner at Richneck Elementary & the aftermath
JT's mother, Deja Taylor, is currently serving a four-year sentence after pleading guilty to state and federal charges.
