Judge Dismisses Charges Against Former Virginia School Administrator

A Virginia judge on Thursday dismissed all eight felony child neglect charges against a former elementary school assistant principal accused of failing to act on warnings that a 6-year-old student had a gun hours before the child shot a teacher. Circuit Judge Rebecca Robinson issued the ruling on the fourth day of the trial in Newport News.

The decision came after the defense argued that the administrator’s actions did not constitute neglect under the law.

The charges stemmed from the January 2023 shooting at Richneck Elementary School. The student brought a gun to school in a backpack and later shot first-grade teacher Abby Zwerner during class. Zwerner spent nearly two weeks in the hospital and required six surgeries. She has not regained full use of her left hand, and a bullet remains in her chest.

Prosecutors alleged the former assistant principal ignored multiple warnings from staff and failed to follow required safety procedures. The charges included one count for each of the eight bullets in the gun. " — Circuit Judge Rebecca Robinson, May 21, 2026 (Los Angeles Times) Defense attorneys told the court that the administrator did not believe a firearm was present and that her decision not to leave her office during testing was not neglect.

The judge’s ruling ends the criminal case against the former administrator.

In a separate civil trial last November, a jury awarded Zwerner $10 million in damages. The student’s mother was previously sentenced to nearly four years in prison on felony child neglect and federal weapons charges. Criminal charges against school officials following a school shooting remain rare.