Jaw-dropping new bodycam shows boy, 6, curse and threaten cops moments after he shot his teacher with gun he brought to school

Newly released bodycam footage has revealed the harrowing moments after a six-year-old shot his teacher inside a classroom at his school in Virginia.

The footage shows the boy, identified only as J. T., sitting in the lap of Amy Kovac, the class's reading specialist, with police surrounding them at Richneck Elementary School on January 6, 2023. 

The child stole his mother's 9mm handgun and brought it into school, before shooting his first-grade teacher Abigail Zwerner in the left hand and upper left chest.

In the video, obtained by the Virginian-Pilot and published for the first time since the ordeal three years ago, the child is heard shouting expletives before police tried to handcuff him.

Officer Brian Torrez's bodycam caught the defiant boy saying 'I don't care if I go to jail, b****,' while the reading specialist restrained him on her lap. 

'If you want a piece of me, come get it!' The six-year-old said to the police after the officer asked for the boy's name. 

'I stole that from my mom,' the boy said, pointing to the gun that was used in the shooting. 

'I don't care if you call back up, I don't care if I go to jail, b****,' the boy can be heard saying in the footage. 

Earlier this week, Newport News Police Department released body-cam footage recorded during the Richneck Elementary School shooting 

'If you want a piece of me, come get it,' the six-year-old can be heard saying in the body-cam footage released by police

The body-cam footage showed teacher Amy Kovac hold the boy until police arrived

First-grade teacher Abigail Zwerner suffered gunshot wounds to her chest and hand after a young boy brought in his mother's gun and fired at her

Kovac then said: 'We know you know that language, and you know that's not appropriate. Mrs Kovac is not happy with that,' as she held the boy in her lap. 

The footage was taken shortly after the boy shot his teacher Zwerner, breaking her bones and puncturing a lung. 

Zwerner and the other children fled the classroom, which was when Kovac walked in to find the boy alone, with the gun on the floor next to him, the outlet reported. 

She collapsed on the ground shortly after escorting the other students into the school's office.  

Kovac stayed with the boy until police arrived, and held him in place as police questioned him, footage showed. 

According to search warrants seen by CBS, the boy also said he 'shot that b***** dead' while police were restraining him. 

Zwerner filed a $40 million lawsuit against the school's assistant principal, Ebony Parker, who she said failed to address prior warnings from Zwerner and other teachers regarding the student's violent behavior. 

Parker previously had criminal charges lodged against her over the shooting - but they were dismissed in May of this year after she pleaded not guilty. 

She had been accused of failing to take any action to protect Zwerner or students after being warned multiple times about the six-year-old's aggression. 

Zwerner - the teacher who was shot by the young boy - testified that she told Parker about the boy's 'violent mood' that day

Parker, who pleaded not guilty to the charges, had been accused of failing to take any action to protect Zwerner or students

Judge Rebecca Robinson dismissed the case against Parker, claiming the former assistant principal did not break the law. 

'If [Parker's actions] are meant to amount to a crime, the legislature will need to codify it,' the judge said. 

'Therefore, I do grant the defense motion to strike in full on all counts, all eight counts of felony child abuse and endangerment.' 

Parker sobbed in court as the judge spoke, then walked out of the courthouse without speaking to reporters.

Zwerner's family issued a statement to the media saying she is ready to put this incident behind her.

'We are happy that this tragic event is behind Abby,' the statement, sent by Karen Piere, Abby's aunt, said.

'As devastating as this shooting was, may it bring change to the education system in our country so that violent children are not placed in a general education classroom, and I hope that administrators are held accountable if this were to happen again for violent behavior.' 

Zwerner had testified in court that she told Parker about the boy's 'violent mood' that day. She had also heard from Kovac that the child may have had a firearm.

The teacher said that Kovac went to report this to Parker. Later, at recess, Zwerner said she noticed that the boy was wearing an oversized jacket and holding his hands in his pockets for the whole time.

While at recess, the boy stared down the school security officer while Zwerner talked to her, she testified.

'I witnessed the student was staring her down, very focused on her and he slowly got up from his seat and ever so slowly approached, still not breaking eye contact at the security officer and that stuck out to me as well,' she said on the stand.

When they were back in class, the boy approached her with the gun in hand, she testified. She was then shot through her hand and chest, which led to permanent physical injuries.

'I saw the student looking at me. I looked over. A gun was pointed right at me. He was holding a gun, the student. It was pointed right at me. And then I was shot,' she said.

Last November, Parker was ordered to pay Zwerner $10 million in a gross negligence lawsuit, before her criminal charges were dropped.

In that lawsuit, Zwerner detailed telling Parker that the boy was in a violent mood, had threatened to beat up a kindergartener, and stared down a security officer in the lunchroom.

It also alleged that Parker had no response, refusing even to look up when Zwerner expressed her concerns.

When concerns were raised that the child may have transferred the gun from his backpack to his pocket, Parker said his 'pockets were too small to hold a handgun and did nothing,' the lawsuit states.

A guidance counselor also asked Parker for permission to search the boy, but Parker forbade him and stated that John Doe's mother would be arriving soon to pick him up, the lawsuit stated.

Deja Taylor, the boy's mother, seen arriving at federal court for a previous hearing on June 12, 2023, in Virginia Beach, Virginia

Zwerner was sitting at a reading table in front of the class when the boy fired the gun, police said.

She spent nearly two weeks in the hospital and has endured multiple surgeries as well as ongoing emotional trauma, according to her lawsuit.

Zwerner also claimed to not have full use of her left hand. A bullet also remains in her chest from the ordeal.

The shooting also occurred on the student's first day back in the classroom after he was suspended for slamming Zwerner's phone.

The boy's mother, Deja Taylor, pleaded guilty to felony child neglect and was sentenced to two years in prison in 2023 after the shooting at the elementary school.

That was a harsher sentence than the six months prosecutors recommended as part of a plea deal that saw her misdemeanor charge for reckless firearm storage dropped.

The Newport News Circuit judge sentenced Taylor to five years in total, with three years suspended.  

Taylor previously pled guilty to using marijuana while owning a gun and was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison in November 2023 on felony gun charges.  

Authorities said she lied about her drug use on a federal background check form when she bought the gun that her son brought to school. 

Taylor's son is now in the custody and care of his great-grandfather and attending a new school in the region.