Teacher Shot by 6-Year-Old Student Files $40 Million Lawsuit Against School Administrators

Abigail Zwerner—the Virginia teacher shot by a six-year-old student—has filed a $40 million lawsuit against the administration of her school, People reports.

In court documents, Zwerner named multiple defendants including the School Board of Richneck Elementary School, where she was shot in the chest by her unnamed first-grade student in January. She also named former school district superintendent George Parker III, former Richneck principal Briana Foster Newton, and former Richneck vice principal Ebony Parker. According to her complaint, the staff at the school were repeatedly warned throughout the day of the shooting that the child reportedly carried a gun in their bag.

Parker, in particular, was warned by various teachers, and the suit has accused her of breaching “her assumed duty” to protect Zwerner and the rest of the staff. As a result of the shooting, which left Zwerner in hospital, she is suffering from “physical pain and mental anguish.” The child involved in the shooting was reportedly removed from the school after the shooting but was permitted to return later on. 

The suit details several other alleged incidents of violence from the child, including one from earlier in the school year when he reportedly choked a teacher. The suit accuses him of a history of violent behavior, including threatening other students, swearing at staff, and inappropriately touching another student. On account of his behavior, a parent was supposed to accompany him to school but they failed to do so on the day of the shooting.

“Teachers’ concerns with John Doe’s behavior was regularly brought to the attention of Richneck Elementary School administration, and the concerns were always dismissed,” reads the lawsuit. “Often when he was taken to the school office to address his behavior, he would return to the classroom shortly thereafter with some type of reward, such as a piece of candy.” Zwerner even informed Parker that the child was in a “violent mood” before the shooting, and he allegedly showed another child his gun during recess and threatened to hurt him if he told anyone.

In a recent interview with NBC about the shooting, Zwerner said that she’s been “doing OK” but said that recovery has proved “challenging. “Some days are not-so-good days where I can’t get up out of bed,” she said. “Some days are better than others where I’m able to get out of bed and make it to my appointments. But from going through what I’ve gone through, I try to stay positive.”

Last month, the city prosecutor in Newport News, Virginia revealed there are no plans to charge the six-year-old.