Virginia teacher shot by 6-year-old student files $40M lawsuit against school officials

The Virginia teacher who was shot by a 6-year-old student filed a lawsuit Monday against school officials, alleging they were negligent in heeding warning signs that could have prevented the shooting.

Abigail Zwerner’s legal team announced that they would be suing the Newport News School Board and the school’s administrators for what they called gross negligence and reckless disregard, seeking $40 million in compensatory damages.

The announcement said that the child in question had a history of violence and that school officials failed to address multiple warning signs on the day of the shooting that could have “prevented this tragedy from happening.”

Zwerner, 25, was shot in the hand and chest in January while teaching at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News. She was hospitalized for two weeks before being released and is still in physical recovery.

According to the announcement, the child was on a modified school schedule in the fall after he had threatened other kids at recess and was required to have a parent in school with him. On the day of the shooting, there was no parent with the child, but he was still allowed to attend class, the announcement read.

Students and teachers had reported to officials that the student had a gun, but administrators allegedly refused to search the child’s belongings, Zwerner’s team added.

Other staff members of the school said in January that Zwerner had repeatedly asked administrators for help with handling the student, but did not receive it, The Washington Post reported.

The Associated Press reported that the lawsuit names the Newport News School Board, former Superintendent George Parker III, former school principal Briana Foster Newton and former assistant principal Ebony Parker as defendants.

George Parker was removed from his position by the school board in January as the school system faced backlash from how it handled the incident.

Zwerner is being represented by Diane Toscano of the Toscano Law Group, PC and Kevin Biniazan and Jeffrey Breit of Breit Biniazan, PC, according to the announcement.

“Essentially, this child was a ticking time bomb on school property and the administration chose to ignore the problem,” Breit said in a statement. “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.”

“We expect more from our school systems, particularly when our children are under their watch. Abigail Zwerner deserved more from the school system and now she will live with the results of their neglect for the rest of her life,” he added.