Mother of 6-yr-old who shot teacher in US criminally charged

Washington, April 11

The mother of a six-year-old boy who shot his teacher at a school in the US state of Virginia, has been criminally charged, according to prosecutors.

In a statement on Monday, the prosecutors said that grand jury has indicted 25-year-old Deja Taylor with a felony child neglect charge and a misdemeanour charge, reports the BBC.

Taylor had been charged with one count of felony child neglect and one count of misdemeanour for "recklessly leaving a loaded firearm so as to endanger a child", the statement said.

The prosecutors added the charges stemmed from a "thorough investigation" into the January 6 shooting at the Richneck Elementary School in the city of Newport News, about 112 km south of the state capital Richmond.

"Every criminal case is unique in its facts, and these facts support these charges, but our investigation into the shooting continues," the BBC quoted attorney for the Commonwealth of Virginia, Howard Gwynn as saying on Monday.

According to the police, the boy brought the gun in his backpack and the firearm was legally purchased and belonged to the child's mother.

He then shot Abigail Zwerner, his 25-year-old teacher, in the hand and chest during a lesson.

She was seriously injured but survived the shooting.