Abby Zwerner, a first grade teacher at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Va., suffered "life-threatening" injuries after being shot by a six-year-old student on Jan. 6, 2023. (Screengrab via GoFundMe)
The grade school teacher who was shot multiple times by a 6-year-old student has filed a $40 million lawsuit alleging that school administrators ignored several warnings about the boy's potential dangerousness.
Abigail Zwerner, 25, was shot in the hand and chest while working at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia, on Jan. 6 by the first grader, identified in the complaint only as "John Doe." The lawsuit adds additional detail to previous reports that the boy had exhibited violent and threatening behavior on multiple occasions, including allegedly choking a teacher until she couldn't breathe.
"The child who shot Ms. Zwerner had a history of violence with both students and teachers," a press release announcing the lawsuit said. "Ultimately the school administrators allowed the child to return in the fall of 2022, but he was quickly placed on a modified schedule after threatening other classmates at recess."
That modified schedule required that one of the boy's parents stay with him at school throughout the day. However, when Doe was dropped off at school that day — his first day back after a suspension for calling Zwerner and other school employees "b—–s" and smashing Zwerner's phone — his mother did not stay with him.
"Defendants allowed him to remain unaccompanied without a one-on-one companion during the school day," the complaint says.
Lawyers for Zwerner have previously alleged that school administrators had been repeatedly warned that the boy had a gun with him the day of the shooting and that those warnings were ignored, with one administrator allegedly expressing disbelief that the boy could carry a gun because he had "little pockets."
The complaint places blame for Zwerner's injuries squarely on the Newport News School Board and school administrators, including Assistant Principal Ebony V. Parker, who is named as a defendant. Zwerner's complaint says that the teacher had warned the assistant principal that Doe was in a "violent mood" that day and had threatened a kindergartner, but Parker "essentially ignored Plaintiff's concerns."
According to the lawsuit, Doe "pulled the firearm out of his pocket, aimed it at Plaintiff and shot her as she was seated at her reading table in the classroom" shortly before 2:00 p.m. — "within an hour of Assistant Principal Parker's specific refusal to allow anyone to search John Doe's person for a firearm, despite being informed on multiple occasions that the firearm had been seen on his person."
The lawsuit says that Parker had a reputation for being dangerously lackadaisical.
From the complaint:
Assistant Principal Parker's lack of response to Plaintiff's concerns on the day of the shooting was consistent with her reputation among teachers. She was well known by teachers working in Newport News to ignore and downplay concerns expressed by teachers, and to demean teachers working in schools in which she was an administrator. Teachers expressed similar concerns about her administrative style when she was an Assistant Principal at Newsome Park Elementary School in Newport News. Oftentimes students who were sent to Assistant Principal Parker for discipline as a result of unruly or violent behavior would return to the classroom bragging about candy they had received from Assistant Principal Parker. In short, Assistant Principal Parker's administrative style was to permit students to engage in dangerous and disruptive conduct and impose no consequence for breaking the rules, thereby placing all persons in the vicinity of the school and in the community at risk.
Superintendent Dr. George Parker III and school principal Briana Foster Newton were also named in the lawsuit. As Law&Crime previously reported, all three named defendants have since left their positions.
Virginia police have announced that the boy will not face criminal charges.
Zwerner's lawsuit was filed Monday in Newport News Circuit Court.
"Essentially, this child was a ticking time bomb on school property and the administration chose to ignore the problem," Zwerner's attorney Jeffrey Breit said in the press release. "Everyone knows that this is unacceptable and we look forward to bringing this case before a Newport News jury to assess the facts for themselves."
Zwerner's complaint says that the risk of being shot by a 6-year-old is just not part of the job of being a teacher.
"As a first-grade teacher at Richneck Elementary School, Plaintiff reasonably anticipated that she would be working with young children who posed no danger to her," the complaint says. "As a first-grade teacher in charge of six- and seven-year-old students, the danger of being shot with a firearm by one of them was not an actual risk of Plaintiff's employment[.]"
Zwerner is seeking a jury trial and a total of $40 million "for the gross negligence and reckless disregard shown by the defendants," the press release said.
"As a result of the shooting, Ms. Zwerner has undergone multiple hand surgeries and has bullet fragments embedded in her chest," the press release said. "Aside from the obvious physical pain and suffering, she is also experiencing emotional distress, anxiety, depression, nightmares and psychological injuries. She has been unable to work since the incident and it is undetermined if/when she will be able to return to work."
A spokesperson for the Newport News School Board said in a statement emailed to Law&Crime that the board has not yet been served with the lawsuit, but will "work with legal counsel accordingly" after receiving the complaint.
"Our thoughts and prayers remain with Abby Zwerner and her ongoing recovery," the statement said. "As we have shared, as a school community, we continue to recover and support one another. We have been working in partnership with our community to address safety and security, student behavior and family engagement."
"The safety and wellbeing of our staff and students is our most important priority," the statement continued. "The School Board and the school division's leadership team will continue to do whatever it takes to ensure a safe and secure teaching and learning environment across all our schools."
Read Zwerner's complaint here.
