The six-year-old student who shot his teacher in the US earlier this year, boasted about the incident saying “I shot [her] dead”, unsealed court documents show.

While being restrained after the shooting at a Virginia school, the boy is said to have admitted “I did it”, adding “I got my mom’s gun last night”.

His teacher, Abigail “Abby” Zwerner - who survived - filed a $40m (£31.4m) lawsuit earlier this year.

The boy has not been charged.

The boy’s mother, however, Deja Taylor, has been charged with felony child neglect and misdemeanour recklessly leaving a loaded firearm as to endanger a child.

In Ms Zwerner’s lawsuit, filed in April, she accuses school officials of gross negligence for ignoring warning signs and argues the defendants knew the child "had a history of random violence

The documents also mention another incident with the same student while he was in kindergarten. A retired teacher told police he started “choking her to the point she could not breathe”.

  • Falmarri@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    17
    arrow-down
    10
    ·
    1 year ago

    How would safe storage laws prevent this? They would just result in another charge for the mother. You really think someone who leaves a gun around with a 6 year old with behavioral issues would lock it up just because of a law?

    • SolidGrue@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      5
      ·
      edit-2
      1 year ago

      Storage laws are the easiest to abide by, though. My stuff all lives in a safe, which key is on my person, because my dotty wife and ditzy daughter frequently forget to lock the door behind them.

      Is an intruder just gonna take the safe and lockboxes? Yep.

      Am I gonna report that theft as “lockbox, contained one pistol (SN:xxxxxxxx); loaded magazine, 9 rounds?” You betcha.

      As you say, LPL videos are free so a lockbox and safe are like, the least obstructive Imlediments ever. What’s the harm in this Pascal’s wager?

      Edit: bah! Wrong reply bug! This was directed to a comment down thread 👇

    • gmtom@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      3
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      How would safe storage laws prevent this? They would just result in another charge for the mother. You really think someone who leaves a gun around with a 6 year old with behavioral issues would lock it up just because of a law?

      The implication is that you actually enforce the laws after you implement them, rather than just implementing them as a way to add a charge. For example in my country police will come to inspect my house at least once a year to make sure im storing them properly and if a neighbour complains or something they will also make an unschedules checked.

      I get American gun owners would take this basic safety precaution as the deepest violation of a tyranical government and would shoot a cop before they let them inspect their home for safety, but my point is if they did agree to sensible safe storage legislation this wouldnt have happened

    • Madison420@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      6
      arrow-down
      19
      ·
      1 year ago

      Bingo they’re just a barrier to entry that negatively effects those of lower income since safes aren’t cheap. Start a program to provide secure no cost safes upon request and I’m with you.

        • Madison420@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          4
          ·
          1 year ago

          Trigger locks aren’t secure storage and moreover they’re not $10 every local sheriff’s office I’m aware of will provide a trigger lock or cable lock at no charge no questions asked.

          • PoliticalAgitator@lemm.ee
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            11
            arrow-down
            1
            ·
            1 year ago

            Nobody on the internet can mention safe storage of firearms without an apologists for people who keep guns in a drawer turning up and saying “Lockpickinglawyer”.

            • dtc@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              1
              arrow-down
              2
              ·
              1 year ago

              Lol apologist? Are you kidding me right now?

              Sorry most gun locks aren’t what they’re marketed as. If all I need to beat a lock is a slip of plastic from a 2 litter your lock is not secure.

              • PoliticalAgitator@lemm.ee
                link
                fedilink
                arrow-up
                1
                arrow-down
                1
                ·
                1 year ago

                LockPickingLawyer is extremely good at picking and bypassing locks. Most children and opportunistic criminals are not.

                His channel also showcases the worst locks he can find, because that’s where the views are. In countries with gun laws that actually work, they often have approved safes and locks specifically to ensure they meet a reasonable standard of security.

                Millions of Americans keep loaded guns in drawers, glove compartments, closets and naff hidden compartments. The pro-gun community generally turns a blind eye to this and staunchly oppose measures to ensure “responsible gun owners” are actually being responsible.

                And the excuse that always pops up eventually is “LockpickingLawyer proves that trying to secure guns with more than threats of domestic violence is a waste of time”.

                • dtc@lemmy.world
                  link
                  fedilink
                  arrow-up
                  1
                  ·
                  1 year ago

                  Who taught the 6 year old to load, cock and use a gun? I’m guessing the sob mother won’t fess up to it. Maybe kids are smarter than we think?

      • gmtom@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        4
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        1 year ago

        This is just poor logic. Guns themselves cost money, which negatively effects those one lower incomes. Should we provide free guns to anyone that wants one too?

        And you know what else negatively effects those on low incomes? Being shot.

        • Madison420@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          1
          arrow-down
          3
          ·
          1 year ago

          Not at all. Guns are often inherited and transferred without fee. And yes in my opinion if you pass a free series of tests on gun ownership/responsibility/safety then yeah, as a militaristic country invasion is almost certainty sooner or later. Should we be militaristic? Probably not but we adjust for the conditions as they are not as we wish them to be.

          Correct, systemic issues including fun fact gun control attempts make lower income areas higher crime and thus higher gun crime. Weird huh?

          • gmtom@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            3
            arrow-down
            1
            ·
            1 year ago

            Correct, systemic issues including fun fact gun control attempts make lower income areas higher crime and thus higher gun crime. Weird huh?

            Are you having a stroke? None of this makes any sort of sense.

      • BrianTheeBiscuiteer@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        1 year ago

        Some states require a trigger lock to be sold along with the weapon. Not as good as a safe but it should prevent accidental discharge. That being said I would support a program to provide no-cost lock boxes (not giant safes) for handguns.