Teacher gets shot by six-year-old, sues school authorities for $40m

A $40 million negligence lawsuit was filed by a teacher in Virginia against the school authorities after she was shot by her six-year-old student.

Abigail Zwerner, aged 25, alleged her requests to search for a handgun among the students and repeated warnings that her student was in a “violent mood” was completely ignored by the administrators.

In the lawsuit former superintendent George Parker III, Newport News school board, former assistant principal Ebony Parker and the ex-Richneck elementary school principal Briana Foster Newton have been named as defendants.

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The shooting took place on January 6. Zwerner was sitting at a reading table when the student shot at her hand and chest.

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The teachers guided her students to safety before going to the hospital where she was admitted for two weeks and had to go through four surgical procedures.

Prosecutors said that the boy, whose identity was not publicly disclosed, will not be facing criminal charges. However, they did not clarify if adults will be charged or not.

Superintendent George Parker III was fired after the shooting took place. The school's assistant principal Ebony Parker resigned.

The attorney, representing the parents of the boy, said that they were “committed to responsible gun ownership and keeping firearms out of the reach of children” and had tried to implement the same with the firearm used, which belonged to the student's mother.

The family further said that the boy had a severe disability and was receiving treatment for mental health. In the lawsuit, attorneys representing Zwerner said the defendants were aware that the boy “had a history of random violence” at home and school. The boy had once also “strangled and choked” his kindergarten teacher.

“All defendants knew that (the boy) attacked students and teachers alike, and his motivation to injure was directed toward anyone in his path, both in and out of school, and was not limited to teachers while at the school,” said the lawsuit.

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Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Zwerner's attorney Diane Toscano said, “The Newport News school division had a duty to Abby. But they failed her miserably that day.”

The lawsuit filed by Zwerner seeks $40m in damages. Speaking about her recovery, Zwerner said, “I try to have a positive outlook on what’s happened and where my future’s heading. I just will never forget the look on his face that he gave me while he pointed the gun directly at me.”

Remembering the moment she was shot, Zwerner said that she was unconscious and “thought I had died”.

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