‘Y’all Want A Piece Of Me?’: Bodycam Captures 6-Year-Old’s Chilling Admission After Shooting Teacher

Recently unsealed video shows bodycam footage of officers responding to a six-year-old boy after he shot his teacher.

The video, released by Newport News police Tuesday, shows officers and sheriff’s deputies arriving at the first-grade classroom in 2023 to find the child, referred to as J.T. in court records, The Virginian-Pilot reported. (RELATED: Woman Who Survived Execution Is Awake And Talking)

Officer Brian Torrez, whose body camera captured the footage, entered the room and found J.T. being held by the class’s reading specialist, Amy Kovac.

“The gun is there. He just admitted that he had one,” Kovac told the officers. The Virginian-Pilot later reported that there were seven additional rounds in the gun.

A sheriff’s deputy announced that he had found the gun on the other side of the room, prompting the boy to begin yelling profanities and slurs.

“Both y’all want a fucking piece of me, bitch?!” J.T. yelled before Kovac asked the boy to stop.

“Fuck you, bitch,” he retorted.

🚨 A 6-year-old shot his teacher. Richneck Elementary, Jan 6, 2023. Court unsealed Officer Brian Torrez’s bodycam Oct 6, 2026. 🎥 The Virginian-Pilot / Daily Press https://t.co/TPphaycltx

The officers decided not to move the gun and instead informed other officers via radio that they had the shooter.

“I told the [assistant principal] that there was a threat earlier about it,” Kovac said, leading J.T. to respond, saying, “That n**ga retired last year.”

The reading specialist then explained J.T.’s situation to the officers, saying he had been on a modified schedule, that this was his first week without his mother being in class with him, and that she was set to pick him up at 2:30.

Kovac said she called 911 after hearing the gunshot from down the hall and found the teacher bleeding.

J.T. flipped off Kovac after hearing this.

One officer asked another if they had small handcuffs, while Kovac asked if she could stay.

“You can stay for now,” Torrez said. “If you feel comfortable.”

J.T. said he wasn’t hurt in the shooting, but when another officer asked where the gun was, the boy replied, saying, “It’s over there, whore.”

Kovac told the boy to stop, adding, “That’s not how we speak to each other.”

“Fuck you,” J.T. said. “Fuck you. Fuck you, bitch.”

We are deeply saddened by the events at Richneck Elementary School. Our hearts our with our Richneck family during this difficult time. Support resources are available at https://t.co/vU0fGorzZj. Richneck will be closed on Monday and Tuesday, January 9 and 10. https://t.co/DlHbPNu9sr

The boy then confessed to stealing the gun from his mother. Court documents said J.T. had taken the gun from his mother’s purse that morning, The Virginian-Pilot reported.

The officer then asked for the boy’s name. After giving it, the boy continued his outburst.

“If you want a piece of me, come get it on, bitch,” J.T. said. “I don’t care if you call backup. I don’t care if I go to jail, bitch.”

“We know you know that language — and you know that’s not appropriate,” the reading specialist said. “Mrs. Kovac’s NOT happy with that.”

Then, what sounds like a punch can be heard, but Torrez’s hands are covering the camera. Kovac would later testify that the boy had punched her.

“You’re done,” Kovac says as she gets up and the police sergeant escorts the boy out of the room.

My administration has offered assistance in response to the shooting at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News and stand at the ready to help in any way we can. I am continuing to monitor the situation and am praying for the continued safety of all students and the community.

The footage was admitted into evidence during the May trial of former Richneck assistant principal Ebony Parker, who was indicted by a special grand jury in 2023 on eight counts of child neglect. Circuit Court Judge Rebecca M. Robinson later dismissed all eight charges against Parker.

The next month, the Daily Press and The Virginian-Pilot filed a motion to unseal the video, appealing to the First Amendment. They were granted permission to distribute the footage on the condition that the child’s face be blurred.

The boy is now in the custody of his great-grandfather. His 29-year-old mother, Deja Nicole Taylor, was released from federal prison in February after serving time for child neglect and lying on a background-check form when she bought the gun, according to The Virginian-Pilot.

The victim, teacher Abby Zwerner, was nearly shot in the heart, with a bullet remaining in her chest. She spent almost two weeks in the hospital, underwent six surgeries, and was unable to maintain full use of her left hand, PBS News reported in November.

Zwerner was also awarded $10 million in a lawsuit against Parker, according to PBS News. (RELATED: Fort Hood Shooter Gets His Execution Date)

“I thought I was either on my way to heaven or in heaven,” Zwerner told PBS News. “But then it all got black. And so, I then thought I wasn’t going there. And then my next memory is I see two co-workers around me and I process that I’m hurt and they’re putting pressure on where I’m hurt.”