2026年5月21日 / 美国东部时间下午1:57 / 哥伦比亚广播公司/美联社
周四，所有针对埃博尼·帕克的指控均被驳回。这位前小学副校长被控在一名6岁学生持枪前数小时，多次收到该学生携枪的警告却未予理会，最终该学生枪击并致其教师重伤。
弗吉尼亚州纽波特纽斯的巡回法官丽贝卡·罗宾逊作出上述裁决，这是帕克审判的第四天，针对的是这位前里奇内克小学管理人员的辩护团队提交的动议。帕克曾面临八项重罪儿童忽视指控，均与其涉枪击事件的行为有关，但罗宾逊周四表示，法院“从法律层面认为这并非犯罪”。
帕克因2023年1月纽波特纽斯枪击案被起诉，该案导致教师艾比·兹沃纳受伤。检方曾表示，指控依据是带入兹沃纳教室的枪支内的每一发子弹。每项罪名一旦定罪，最高可判处五年监禁。
特别检察官乔希·詹金斯周四未回复发送至其办公室的电子邮件和电话留言。本周早些时候的开场陈述中，詹金斯试图将帕克描绘成一名对学校员工反映的担忧不屑一顾的人，当时员工们告知帕克，这名6岁学生的背包里可能有一把枪。
辩护律师柯蒂斯·罗杰斯在向法官提出动议时表示，枪击发生当天帕克的决定“并非玩忽职守”。
“她的行为丝毫没有表明她认为该学生持有枪支，”罗杰斯说道。
埃博尼·帕克在其审判的陪审团遴选期间出庭，摄于2026年5月18日周一，弗吉尼亚州纽波特纽斯纽波特纽斯巡回法院。彼得·凯西/《弗吉尼亚人报》/美联社 pooled photo
另一名辩护律师斯蒂芬·蒂格在法庭外表示：“我们认为结果公正，我们为帕克博士感到高兴。这对她来说是巨大的解脱，我们很高兴能参与她的维权之路。”
审判期间帕克并未出庭作证。周三，枪击事件发生三天后，学区人力资源官员对帕克进行的一段视频采访在法庭上播放给陪审团观看。
帕克称，她得知有报告称该学生的背包里有一把枪，但表示由于正在进行的测试工作，她无法离开办公室。最初上报该担忧的阅读专家随后搜查了该学生的背包，但未发现枪支，帕克说道。
帕克随后表示，该学生的母亲会来接他，并会检查他其余的随身物品。
兹沃纳在审判早些时候作证称，课间休息时在学校操场，该学生穿着一件 oversized 的夹克，全程双手都插在口袋里。兹沃纳称，她将这一观察结果通过短信发送给了阅读专家，此前有学生向阅读专家举报该学生携带枪支，并已将此事上报给帕克。
课间休息结束后，该学生在教室里仍穿着那件夹克，就在阅读桌旁，兹沃纳遭到枪击。兹沃纳在医院住了近两周，接受了六次手术，左手已无法完全正常使用。一颗子弹险些击中她的心脏，至今仍留在她的胸腔内。
专家表示，校园枪击事件后对学校管理人员提起刑事指控的情况极为罕见。此次枪击事件给这个以造船业为主的军事社区乃至整个美国都带来了震动，许多人都在疑惑，一名如此年幼的孩子如何能获得枪支并枪击自己的老师。
去年11月的一起民事审判中，陪审团裁定向兹沃纳赔偿1000万美元，当时帕克是唯一的被告，目前她已不在该校任职。
该学生的母亲因重罪儿童忽视和联邦武器指控被判处近四年监禁。
Judge dismisses charges against ex-school official accused of neglect after 6-year-old shot teacher
May 21, 2026 / 1:57 PM EDT / CBS/AP
All charges against Ebony Parker, the former elementary school assistant principal accused of ignoring repeated warnings that a 6-year-old student had a gun hours before the child eventually shot and seriously wounded his teacher, were dismissed Thursday.
The ruling from Circuit Judge Rebecca Robinson, in Newport News, Virginia, came on the fourth day of Parker’s trial in response to a motion filed by the defense team for the former Richneck Elementary School administrator. She was facing eight counts of felony child neglect for her alleged actions around the shooting, but Robinson said Thursday that the court “is of the legal opinion that this is not a crime.”
Parker was charged in the January 2023 shooting in Newport News that left teacher Abby Zwerner wounded. Prosecutors had said the charges were for each of the bullets in the gun brought into Zwerner’s classroom. Each count could have carried a maximum penalty of five years in prison upon conviction.
Special prosecutor Josh Jenkins did not immediately return an email and a telephone message left at his office on Thursday. During opening statements earlier this week, Jenkins had sought to paint a picture of Parker as dismissive when employees at the school approached with concerns that a gun may have been inside the 6-year-old’s backpack.
Defense attorney Curtis Rogers told the judge in making his motion that Parker’s decision on the day of the shooting “wasn’t an act of neglect.”
“Her actions in no way indicated that she believed there was a firearm in the possession” of the child, Rogers said.
Ebony Parker looks on during jury selection for her trial at the Newport News Circuit Court in Newport News, Va., Monday, May 18, 2026. Peter Casey/The Virginian-Pilot via AP, Pool
Another defense attorney, Stephen Teague, said outside court that “we believe that the right outcome was reached and we’re thrilled for Dr. Parker. It was a great relief for her and we’re just happy that we were part of her journey.”
Parker was not called to testify during the trial. On Wednesday, a video interview of Parker conducted three days after the shooting by a school district human resources officer was played in the courtroom for the jury.
Parker said she was told about reports that the student had a gun in his backpack, but said she could not leave her office due to ongoing testing. A reading specialist who first reported the concerns then searched the backpack, but no gun was found, Parker said.
Parker then said the student’s mother would arrive to pick him up and go through the rest of his belongings.
Zwerner testified earlier in the trial that during recess on the school playground, the student wore an oversized jacket and kept both of his hands in his pockets the entire time. Zwerner said she sent a text message with that observation to the reading specialist, who had been tipped off earlier by students about the gun and reported it to Parker.
After recess, the student continued to wear the jacket in the classroom, where Zwerner was shot at a reading table. Zwerner spent nearly two weeks in the hospital, required six surgeries and does not have the full use of her left hand. A bullet narrowly missed her heart and remains in her chest.
Criminal charges against school officials after a school shooting are quite rare, experts say. The shooting sent shock waves through this military shipbuilding community and the country at large, with many wondering how a child so young could gain access to a gun and shoot his teacher.
A jury awarded $10 million to Zwerner in a civil trial last November, where Parker, who no longer works at the school, was the only defendant.
The student’s mother was sentenced to nearly four years in prison for felony child neglect and federal weapons charges.
发表回复