Abigail Zwerner: Virginia teacher shot by first-grader files $40 million lawsuit against school
NEW PORT NEWS, VIRGINIA: Abigail Zwerner, the teacher who was shot and got injured by a six-year-old student at the Richneck Elementary School has filed a $40 million lawsuit on Monday, March 3. The 25-year-old woman filed the lawsuit nearly three months after the incident inside the classroom took place when the first grader who had a "history of random violence," shot her while she was teaching.
The teacher now moves ahead with litigation accusing the officials of the school of ignoring several warnings against the Virginia boy's behavioral difficulties and firearms possession. Jeffrey Breit, one of Zwerner's attorneys said, "We know for a fact that there were at least three opportunities for them to stop this from happening," according to Today.
RELATED ARTICLES
Virginia boy, 6, who shot Abigail Zwerner told another educator about his desire to set her on fire
Repeated warnings against the six-year-old boy
The lawsuit said that the disturbed youngster's history included "multiple reports that a firearm was on school property and likely in possession of a violent individual," and added that two days before the shooting, he was suspended for destroying Zwerner’s phone. The warnings ignored by the Newport News school included another educator warning that before Zwerner was shot in class, "one of the students has actually seen the gun." Breit said, "At that point in time, you have a ticking time bomb in the school — and the school failed to do anything about it," according to NY Post.
Zwerner decided to sue the school officials after they claimed it was a worker's compensation case in effect and denied to settle. Talking to Today, co-counsel Diane Toscano said, "That’s what they’ve maintained, up until today, that that is just part of the job" for a teacher to be "shot by their own student." She responded to the "completely preventable" incident by saying, "That is unacceptable. That’s outrageous. And that’s not what happened here."
The troubled youngster only identified as John Doe previously tried to choke another teacher in 2021 and in another incident, he "began to touch" a female classmate "inappropriately" after he pulled up her dress. The complaint stated that for "chasing students around the playground with a belt in an effort to whip them with it, as well as cursing at staff and teachers," the six-year-old was previously kept on a modified schedule.
However, the concerns and warnings by the teachers "were always dismissed." Rather than taking any action to prevent the risks, the boy was often seen coming back from the school's office "with some type of reward, such as a piece of candy," according to the lawsuit. rather than action to prevent the risk he posed, the suit claimed. Along with him, at least one of his parents was required to attend school due to his violent behavior.
What happened on the day of shooting?
Two days after the end of his suspension for smashing Zwerner's phone, the first-grader returned to the school on January 6. As per the school's requirement, neither of his parents attended school with him and was not given a "one-on-one companion" after his return.
Ebony Parker, the then-assistant principal who later resigned following the shooting, "essentially ignored" Zwerner's concerns about the troubled youngster's "violent mood," while another teacher learned that he had a gun, as per the lawsuit. The teacher informed that other children saw the boy hiding the weapon in a sweatshirt pocket. However, Parker refused to let the teachers search the six-year-old himself, and only his backpack was searched.
Less than an hour after the search, the first-grader shot Zwerner in her chest while she was teaching. Talking on the Today's show in February, Zwerner said she thought she would die and revealed that the bullet is still in her chest, adding, "I think it will always be there."