Grandfather of 6-year-old boy who shot teacher says news coverage is racially motivated



The grandfather of the 6-year-old who shot his teacher said that the overabundant news coverage of the incident was racially motivated and claimed that it would be far less had the teacher been black.

He made the comments in the first televised interview with the boy's mother since the Jan. 6 incident.

"Absolutely," Calvin Taylor replied to ABC News when asked if he thought there was a racial component to the coverage.

"I think that if the dynamics were different, if the teacher was maybe looking like me, and the student was Caucasian or another nationality, it wouldn't be as pumped up as much," he explained.

Deja Taylor said in the interview that she took responsibility for her boy's actions.

“That is my son, so I am as a parent, obviously, willing to take responsibility for him, because he can’t take responsibility for himself,” Taylor said.

The 25-year-old teacher at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia, was later identified as Abby Zwerner. She was shot in the hand and chest in the Jan. 6 incident that shocked the nation.

The family had previously admitted that the boy had used a gun legally registered to his mother but claimed that it had been appropriately secured.

Their attorney said that they were not ready to discuss how the boy was able to gain access to the gun.

“We’re not ready to discuss that at this point,” said James Ellenson. “I don’t know that any adult knows exactly how he got the gun.”

Taylor offered more details about the boy's acute disability, saying that others with ADHD "are able to have it at a very mild rate, but he’s off the wall, doesn’t sit still – ever.”

A previous statement from the family said that the boy had a care plan that involved their presence at the school.

"Our son suffers from an acute disability and was under a care plan at the school that included his mother or father attending school with him and accompanying him to class every day. The week of the shooting was the first week when we were not in class with him," the statement read.

Taylor said that they had shifted away from that care plan after the boy was shifted to another doctor who changed his medication and the boy had started meeting his academic goals.

She also said that the boy liked his teacher but that he would come home and tell her that he felt ignored.

Prosecutors said in March they would not charge the boy over the incident, but Taylor was charged with felony child neglect and recklessly leaving a firearm to endanger a child. She faces 6 years in prison if convicted.

Zwerner has filed a $40 million lawsuit against the school in which she claims that school officials ignored threats and other signs from the boy on the day on the shooting.

Taylor says the boy doesn't talk about the shooting incident. He is in the custody of his grandfather.

Here's the video of the interview with ABC News:

Mother of 6-year-old who shot teacher: 'I am willing to take responsibility' | ABCNL www.youtube.com

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Teacher shot by 6-year-old student says district ignored 3 separate warnings before the shooting, will file lawsuit



The teacher who was shot by a 6-year-old student indicated that she will file a lawsuit against the district after her attorney detailed three separate warnings she says the district ignored before the shooting.

Attorney Diane Toscano says her client Abby Zwerner has been released from the hospital after being shot in the chest by a student at Richneck Elementary in Newport News, Virginia.

Toscano said that the first warning came from Zwerner herself who claimed that she told a school administrator that the child had threatened to beat up another student.

"They didn't call security, they didn't remove the student from the classroom, the school administration failed to act," Toscano said.

A second warning came when a teacher searched the student's bookbag to look for the gun. That teacher told a school administrator that they believed they saw the 6-year-old student putting a gun in his pocket before going out for recess. That administrator reportedly responded that he had "little pockets," presumably implying they were too small to hold a gun.

A third warning was missed only one hour before the shooting.

Toscano said that a third teacher went to administrators after a student told them that the boy had shown them a gun and threatened to shoot them if they told anyone. Instead of taking action, administrators reportedly refused permission to search the boy because it was close to the end of the day.

"Tragically, almost an hour later, violence struck Richneck Elementary School," Toscano continued. "Abby was shot in front of those horrified kids and the school community is living the nightmare all because the school administration failed to act."

An attorney for the family of the 6-year-old student released a brief statement after the media briefing from Toscano.

"On behalf of the family of the child, we continue to pray for Ms. Zwerner and wish her a complete and full recovery. Our hearts go out to all involved," said James Ellenson.

The family had previously asserted that the child suffered from an "acute disability" and said they did not know how he got possession of the firearm that was registered to the boy's mother.

The assistant principal for the school has already resigned while the school board voted to fire the school's superintendent.

Toscano said that Zwerner's condition is improving, but added, "the psychological wounds cut deeply and remain fresh, and the psychological scars will be lasting."

Here's a video of Toscano's claims against the district:

Lawyer for Abby Zwerner says administrators were warned 3 timeswww.youtube.com

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