6-year-old boy who shot his Virginia teacher said "I shot that b**** dead," unsealed records show

The 6-year-old boy accused of shooting and seriously wounding his first-grade teacher in Virginia last winter later said, "I shot that b**** dead," according to newly unsealed redacted search warrants.

A reading specialist was restraining the boy when officers arrived at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News on Jan. 6, according to the documents. She'd grabbed him after the classroom shooting and held him in place until police arrived. 

"I did it," the boy allegedly said as he was being restrained. "I got my mom's gun last night."

Police later confirmed the boy used his mother's gun, which was purchased legally.

While the boy has not been charged, his mother, Deja Taylor, was indicted in April on charges of felony child neglect and misdemeanor recklessly leaving a loaded firearm as to endanger a child. She was additionally charged in June with unlawfully using a controlled substance while in possession of a firearm and making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm.

She pleaded guilty on June 12 to illegally obtaining and possessing a firearm and making a false statement on a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives form to purchase the firearm. Taylor will face a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison when she is sentenced in October.

Teacher Abigail Zwerner, 25, suffered gunshot wounds to her chest and hand. She needed four surgeries to recover. Zwerner filed a $40 million lawsuit after the shooting. In it, she accused school officials of gross negligence for allegedly ignoring multiple warnings that the boy had a gun and was in a "violent mood" on the day of the shooting.

According to the search warrant, multiple staff members, including Amy Kovac, the reading specialist who restrained the boy, heard from two students on the day of the shooting who said the 6-year-old boy had a gun in his book bag. Kovac and the administrator searched the boy's bag while the class was at recess, but they did not find a gun.

The shooting happened after the class returned from recess. Police found a loaded 9mm handgun on the classroom floor.

During their investigation, detectives on Jan. 23 interviewed a retired Newport News elementary school teacher who had taught the accused shooter, according to the warrant. She alleged that on Sept. 27, 2021, the boy walked behind her while she was sitting, placed his arms around her neck and pulled down, "choking her to the point she could not breathe." A teacher's assistant forcibly removed the boy from the classroom.

The search warrant also details efforts to get school records about the boy from Child Protective Services and Newport News Public Schools.

The school district, when asked about the warrant, told CBS affiliate WTKR that Newport News Public Schools was unable to comment on the matter because of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.

"Unfortunately, FERPA, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, prevents schools from releasing information from a student's education record," the district told WTKR. "U.S. Department of Education guidance states 'schools must have written permission from the parent or eligible student in order to release any information from a student's education record.'"

Aliza Chasan

Aliza Chasan is a digital producer at 60 Minutes and CBS News.

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