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A teacher has alleged in a new lawsuit that a Virginia elementary school ignored warning signs prior to a 6-year-old student shooting her.
The teacher, 25-year-old Abby Zwerner, was shot in the hand and chest by the young student on January 6 while in her classroom at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia. Zwerner survived, but as a result, needed multiple surgeries and spent roughly two weeks in the hospital recovering. It was the latest in a long line of incidents involving young children getting ahold of firearms, many of which have ended in death.
On Monday, Zwerner filed a lawsuit against school officials, alleging "gross negligence" on their part in the lead-up to the shooting, local station KTVU News reported. The student, referred to as "John Doe" in the suit, allegedly had a long history of violent behavior, including prior attacks against teachers. Officials are also accused of ignoring numerous warnings on the day of the incident in January that the student had a gun and had been exhibiting a "violent mood."
The suit names the Newport News School Board and multiple district officials as defendants, including former superintendent George Parker III. No charges have been filed against anyone in relation to the shooting, though Parker was fired by the school board. Additionally, Richneck Elementary's principal was reassigned to a different role in the district, while the assistant principal resigned from their position. The board also voted to install metal detectors at schools in the district and to begin purchasing clear backpacks for students.
A Newport News prosecutor previously declined to bring charges against the boy, claiming that he was too young to understand the legal system and what the charges would mean.
As the teacher's attorney explained in the new lawsuit, the student "had a history of random violence" at the school and at home, which all the named defendants were aware of. A year prior to the shooting, the boy reportedly "strangled and choked" his kindergarten teacher. He was reassigned to a different school for the remainder of that year but was allowed to resume attending Richneck at the start of his first-grade school year in the fall of 2022.
"All Defendants knew that John Doe 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," the lawsuit stated.
While placed on a modified schedule upon his return to the school, which included having a parent accompany him, the lawsuit says the student continued to harass those around him, including incidents where he was "chasing students around the playground with a belt in an effort to whip them with it." Continued concerns raised before the school board were allegedly dismissed, and the boy's parents declined to put him in special education classes for students with similar issues.
In seeking $40 million in damages, Zwerner claims the shooting left her with "permanent bodily injuries, physical pain, mental anguish, lost earnings and other damages," according to KTVU.
"At this time, the Newport News School Board has not yet received the legal documents," the board said in a statement sent to Newsweek. "When the School Board is served, we will work with legal counsel accordingly. Our thoughts and prayers remain with Abby Zwerner and her ongoing recovery. 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."
According to EducationWeek, there have been 13 school shootings that have resulted in injuries or death so far this year, as of the end of March. The most recent high-profile incident saw a former student open fire at a religious school in Nashville, Tennessee, killing three students and three faculty members.
Updated 04/04/2023 12:05 p.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from Newport News School Board.
About the writer
Thomas Kika is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in upstate New York. His focus is reporting on crime and national ... Read more