Deja Taylor, the mother of the 6-year-old student who shot his first-grade teacher in Virginia on Jan. 6, said she was “willing to take responsibility” for the shooting “because he can’t take responsibility for himself.”
“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 during an interview on ABC’s “Good Morning America" that aired Wednesday. “I just truly would like to apologize ... [teacher Abigail Zwerner] did get hurt. We were actually kind of forming a relationship with me having to be in the classroom. And she is really a bright person.”
Taylor’s attorney, James Ellenson, said her client believed her gun was secured on a high closet shelf with a trigger lock. Ellenson told “Good Morning America” that no one knows how Taylor's son got it.
“People have talked to him about that, but I don’t know that any adult knows exactly how he got the gun,” Ellenson said.
Taylor said her son has ADHD and while attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder might affect others mildly, she described her son as “off the wall," saying he "doesn’t sit still ever.”
Taylor was charged last month with felony neglect and reckless storage of a firearm. A trial date of Aug. 15 has been set. Ellenson said Taylor wants to reach a plea agreement with prosecutors.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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