Newly unsealed bodycam footage shows the disturbing moments after a 6-year-old Virginia boy shot his first-grade teacher in the chest, as he swore at educators, threatened police and appeared to challenge officers to fight.

The boy, identified in court only as J.T., was filmed after police responded to Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia, on Jan. 6, 2023.

“Both y’all want a f–king piece of me, b—h?!” J.T. tells officers in footage recorded by Officer Brian Torrez and obtained by local outlets.

The video was taken shortly after J.T. fired a single round at his teacher, Abby Zwerner, in front of 16 students during their first-grade reading class.

Boy Threatens Officers After Shooting

Reading specialist Amy Kovac had rushed into the classroom after hearing the gunshot and seeing blood on Zwerner. She restrained J.T. in a bear hug and repeatedly told him to stop.

Instead, the boy continued to curse at her.

“F–k you, b—h,” J.T. says, while also raising his middle finger toward Kovac.

Police can be heard discussing the need for “small handcuffs” because of the boy’s size. Officer Torrez also warned fellow officers not to touch J.T.’s hands because of possible gun residue.

The footage shows officers locating a 9 mm Taurus handgun on the classroom floor roughly 15 to 20 feet from the boy.

“We have the shooter,” an officer says over the police radio.

At one point, J.T. claims he “stole that from my mom” while gesturing toward the firearm.

He then threatens 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 says.

Kovac attempts to calm him down, telling him that he knows the language is inappropriate.

“We know you know that language — and you know that’s not appropriate. Mrs. Kovac’s not happy with that,” she says.

Kovac later testified that J.T. punched her in the face during the confrontation, knocking her glasses off.

Earlier Concerns About the Boy’s Behavior

The footage also captures Kovac explaining to officers that the boy had previously been the subject of disciplinary concerns.

“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 says.

She also told officers that she had contacted 911 after hearing the gunshot from down the hallway and entering the classroom to find Zwerner injured.

J.T. had reportedly taken the gun from his mother’s purse on the morning of the shooting. According to court documents, he climbed onto his mother’s dresser, took the firearm, placed it in his backpack and brought it to school.

During an afternoon reading class, he pulled the gun from a jacket pocket and fired once at Zwerner from about 10 feet away. The bullet struck her hand and chest.

Bodycam Footage Shown During Trial

The roughly three-minute bodycam video was introduced as a prosecution exhibit during the May trial of former Richneck Elementary assistant principal Ebony Parker.

Parker faced eight felony child-neglect counts connected to events preceding the shooting. The charges were dismissed days later, before the defense presented its case.

Zwerner, who suffered severe injuries in the shooting, was later awarded $10 million following a civil trial against Parker that concluded in November 2025.

J.T.’s mother, Deja Nicole Taylor, 29, was sentenced to state prison for child neglect and also served time in federal prison after lying about drug use on a background-check form when purchasing the firearm used in the shooting.

Taylor was released from prison in February.

J.T., who is now around 9 or 10 years old, is living in Newport News under the custody of his great-grandfather.

Source: Compiled from various sources