Bodycam footage has revealed the disturbing moment a 6-year-old boy who shot his teacher inside a Virginia elementary school classroom threatened police officers and used abusive language during the confrontation.
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The boy, identified as J.T., was seen in the footage after police responded to Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia, following the shooting of his first-grade teacher, Abby Zwerner, on January 6, 2023.
The footage showed the boy behaving aggressively as officers tried to control the situation.
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At one point, he was heard telling police officers:
“Both y’all want a f**king piece of me, b**h?!”
The footage was recorded after J.T. shot Zwerner in front of 16 pupils during their first-grade class.
Reading specialist Amy Kovac rushed into the classroom after hearing the gunshot and held the boy in a bear hug while attempting to stop him.
She could be heard telling him to “stop,” but J.T. responded:
“F**k you, **h.”
Police officers later located a 9mm Taurus handgun on the classroom floor approximately 15 to 20 feet away from the boy.
“We have the shooter,” another officer said over the police radio.
Kovac told officers that she had previously informed the assistant principal about a threat involving the boy.
“I told the [assistant principal] that there was a threat earlier about it,” Kovac said.
During the confrontation, J.T. also made a statement that appeared to refer to another person.
“That n—a retired last year,” J.T. said, although it was unclear who he was referring to.
An officer then asked Kovac how old the boy was.
“He is 6 years old,” she replied.
Kovac also told officers that J.T. had previously been placed on a modified school schedule and that his mother was supposed to pick him up at 2:30 p.m.
“He has been on a modified schedule. His mother is to pick him up at 2:30. This is his first week without his mother coming to school with him,” Kovac said.
She explained that she called 911 after hearing a gunshot from down the hallway and rushing into the classroom, where she saw blood on the teacher.
J.T. continued to use abusive language during the confrontation and at one point flashed his middle finger at Kovac.
An officer asked whether the police had “small handcuffs” for the child, while another officer warned his colleagues not to touch J.T.’s hands because of possible “gun residue” from the shooting.
The boy then revealed where the gun had come from.
“I stole that from my mom,” J.T. said while gesturing toward the firearm.
He subsequently threatened the officers again.
“If you want a piece of me, come get it on, b—h. I don’t care if you call backup. I don’t care if I go to jail, b—h,” he told an officer as Kovac attempted to calm him down.
“We know you know that language — and you know that’s not appropriate. Mrs. Kovac’s not happy with that,” Kovac said.
Kovac later testified that the boy punched her in the face during the confrontation, causing her glasses to fly off.
According to court documents, J.T. had taken the firearm from his mother’s purse on the morning of the shooting. He reportedly climbed onto a dresser, took the gun, placed it inside his backpack and brought it to school.
Later that afternoon, during a reading class, J.T. pulled the gun from a jacket pocket and fired one shot at Zwerner from approximately 10 feet away. The bullet struck her hand and chest.
The three-minute bodycam footage was introduced during the trial of former Richneck assistant principal Ebony Parker. She faced multiple felony child neglect charges connected to events that occurred before the shooting.
However, the charges against Parker were dismissed days later before the defense presented its case.
Zwerner, who survived the shooting, later received a $10 million award following a civil trial against Parker that concluded in November 2025.
J.T.’s mother, Deja Nicole Taylor, was sentenced to prison for child neglect and also served time in federal prison in connection with the firearm used in the shooting, including a case involving false information on a background-check form when she purchased the gun.
Taylor was released from prison in February.
J.T., who is now around 9 or 10 years old, is reportedly living in Newport News under the custody of his great-grandfather.
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