Ebony Parker, a former assistant principal at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia, left the courtroom after a judge dismissed all criminal charges against her stemming from the January 2023 school shooting that wounded teacher Abby Zwerner, according to court reporting.
Acting Circuit Judge Rebecca Robinson issued the ruling Thursday, acting on a defense motion as the trial entered its fourth day. Robinson said, “The court is of the legal opinion that this is not a crime,” as she announced the dismissal.
Parker had faced eight felony counts of child neglect. The charges came after prosecutors said a grand jury indictment mapped each allegation to bullets in the gun brought into Zwerner’s classroom, with each count carrying a potential maximum penalty of five years in prison if convicted.
Hampton commonwealth’s attorney Anton A. Bell said in a statement that his office had hoped the community would have “the opportunity to weigh in through the full judicial process.” He added that the court had “now concluded the matter as it deemed appropriate under the law,” and said the office remains committed to pursuing justice “with integrity, transparency, and fairness,” while honoring “the role that citizens play in our criminal justice system.”
Defense attorney Curtis Rogers argued that Parker’s actions “wasn’t an act of neglect.” Another defense attorney, Stephen Teague, said outside court that “we believe that the right outcome was reached and we’re thrilled for Dr. Parker,” adding that it was “a great relief for her.”
During the trial, Parker was not called to testify. Instead, a video interview of Parker conducted three days after the shooting by a school district human resources officer was played for the jury. In the video, Parker said she was told about reports that the student had a gun in his backpack but that she could not leave her office because of ongoing testing. She also said a reading specialist who first reported the concerns then searched the backpack and found no gun. Parker told the interviewer that the student’s mother would arrive to pick him up and go through the rest of his belongings.
Earlier testimony included statements from Zwerner about what she observed around recess on the school playground. Zwerner testified that the student wore an oversized jacket and kept both hands in his pockets throughout recess, and that she sent a text message with that observation to the reading specialist after receiving a tip from students about the gun and reporting it to Parker. Zwerner said the student continued to wear the jacket in the classroom, where she was shot at a reading table.
The shooting left Zwerner hospitalized for nearly two weeks and requiring six surgeries. Reporting said a bullet narrowly missed her heart and remained in her chest. The incident also led to rare criminal proceedings against school officials, with experts saying such charges are uncommon after school shootings.
A jury awarded Zwerner $10 million in a civil trial in November 2025, and reporting said Parker was the only defendant in that case. The student’s mother was sentenced to nearly four years in prison for felony child neglect and federal weapons charges.