Teacher shot by 6-year-old student files $40M lawsuit

Richneck Elementary School following the shooting of a teacher by a six-year-old.
(Image credit: Billy Schuerman/The Virginian-Pilot/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

The Newport News, Virginia, teacher who was shot by her six-year-old student earlier this year sued her school district for $40 million on Monday, alleging that school officials ignored numerous warnings that the student had a gun.

Abigail Zwerner, 25, was shot in the hand and chest by the student at Richneck Elementary School with a 9mm handgun on Jan. 6, as she sat reading to her class. Zwerner spent almost two weeks in the hospital and underwent four surgeries, and continues her long road to recovery.

The incident shocked the community of Newport News and made nationwide headlines, with many wondering how a first-grade child could obtain a gun and bring it to school. In the lawsuit, which was first reported by NBC News, Zwerner's attorneys argued that the school failed in its "assumed duty" to protect the teacher, despite "multiple reports that a firearm was on school property and likely in possession of a violent individual."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Defendants in the lawsuit include the Newport News School Board, former Superintendent George Parker III, former Richneck principal Briana Foster Newton, and former Richneck assistant principal Ebony Parker, The Associated Press reported. All three named defendants have either been fired or re-assigned to other schools in the aftermath of the shooting.

The lawsuit said Zwerner suffers "physical pain and mental anguish," as a result of the incident.

Zwerner's attorneys, Diane Toscano and Jeffrey Breit, appeared on the TODAY Show following news of the lawsuit, and lambasted the alleged misdeeds by the school. "We know for a fact that there were at least three opportunities for [the school] to stop this from happening," Breit said. "Right now, the allegations are...you have a ticking time bomb in the school, and the school failed to do anything about it."

The Newport News School Board has not issued any response to the lawsuit.

Explore More
Justin Klawans, The Week US

Justin Klawans has worked as a staff writer at The Week since 2022. He began his career covering local news before joining Newsweek as a breaking news reporter, where he wrote about politics, national and global affairs, business, crime, sports, film, television and other news. Justin has also freelanced for outlets including Collider and United Press International.