Mother charged after her 6-year-old son shot a teacher

A prosecutor in Virginia announced Monday that the mother of a six-year-old elementary school student who shot and critically injured his teacher in January has been charged with child neglect.

The jury also found the mother, Deja Taylor, guilty of criminal negligence for placing a loaded firearm within the child's reach, causing harm to the child and other citizens.

His teacher approached a school administrator earlier in the day regarding the boy's behavior after he threatened to beat up a classmate, according to international media.

At least two other teachers allegedly echoed her concerns. Furthermore, the child had reportedly strangled his kindergarten teacher as well, previously.

According to police, on January 6th, the first-grader pulled a 9mm pistol from his bag, which his mother had legally purchased, and shot his teacher, Abigail Zwerner. As a result of the shooting, Abigail was hospitalized for two weeks, with life-threatening injuries to her hand and chest.

Family members of the boy said in a statement shortly after the incident that the boy was "acutely disabled" and the gun was "safe."

In early April, Zwerner filed a civil lawsuit against the school administration, accusing it of failing to address the boy's violent behavior. She also accused the school administration of failing to respond to another student's complaint that he came to school with a gun.

In her lawsuit, Abby sought $40 million in damages from the school administration. School shootings are becoming more common in America, where nearly 400 million people own guns.

Nashville, Tennessee, was the scene of the latest tragedy in late March, when three nine-year-old students and three adults were killed after a shooting.