Mother Of 6-Year-Old Who Shot Teacher Said Child Felt ‘Ignored’

Deja Taylor told “Good Morning America” she believes that her son’s actions were connected to his ADHD diagnosis.

The mother of the 6-year-old boy in Newport News, Virginia, who police say shot his teacher in January, claimed her son really liked the woman, Abigail Zwerner, but the child felt she was ignoring him the week of the shooting.

However, Deja Taylor said she doesn’t know how her son accessed the gun.

In an interview Wednesday with “Good Morning America,” Taylor said she believes her son’s actions were connected to his ADHD diagnosis.

Taylor described her son as a “great kid” but said his condition made him “very energetic.”

She said, “He’s off the wall. Doesn’t sit still, ever.”

The first grader allegedly shot Zwerner on Jan. 6, a day after he was suspended for breaking her cellphone. When he returned to school, he shot his teacher using Taylor’s 9mm Taurus handgun, according to NBC News.

Taylor told “GMA” that the teacher’s device breaking was an accident, one that happened after the youth threw up his arms in response to her telling him to sit down when he was trying to ask her a question.

“You know, most children, when they are trying to talk to you, and if you easily just brush them off, or you ask them to sit down, or you’re dealing with something else, and you ask them to go and sit down, at 6 [years old] you ― in your mind would believe that, ‘Somebody’s not listening to me,’ and you have a tantrum,” Taylor said.

Taylor’s attorney, James Ellenson, has said his client believed the gun was secured on a high closet shelf with a trigger lock.

“People have talked to him about that, but I don’t know that any adult knows exactly how he got the gun,” Ellenson said.

The boy will not be charged for the shooting, but last month Taylor was indicted on a charge of felony child neglect and a misdemeanor count of recklessly leaving a firearm that endangered a child.

“I am, as a parent, obviously willing to take responsibility for him because he can’t take responsibility for his self,” she told “GMA.”

Taylor wants to reach a plea agreement with prosecutors, according to The Associated Press. However, if she is found liable, Ellenson thinks an appropriate sentence would be probation or community service.

At the time of the incident, Taylor was experiencing postpartum depression after a series of miscarriages the year prior to the shooting.

The boy is in the custody of Taylor’s grandfather, who told “GMA” the child is getting therapy and attending school away from Newport News.

Last month, Zwerner filed a $40 million lawsuit accusing school officials of gross negligence and ignoring multiple warnings the day of the shooting that the boy was armed and in a “violent mood.”

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