The assistant principal of Richneck Elementary, where the 6-year-old shot his teacher, has resigned following allegations that the administration ignored several warnings about the armed student the day of the shooting.
On Wednesday, the district spokesperson Michelle Price confirmed that Dr. Ebony Parker of Newport News has resigned as assistant principal.
Earlier this month, it was reported that first-grade teacher Abigail Zwerner, 25, was shot by one of her students on Jan 6.
According to Diana Toscano, Zwerner’s attorney, who announced her client is suing the school system on Wednesday, three school staff members alerted the administration that the 6-year-old boy had a gun in the hours before the incident.
Toscano claims that a school official advised a concerned teacher “to wait the situation out because the school day was almost over” rather than search the boy for the gun.
It is unclear if Parker is the one who gave the advice or if she was warned about the student.
So far, Parker is the only administrator to resign from her position.
The Newport News district has decided to terminate Superintendent Dr. George Parker III , who will be replaced starting Feb 1.
According to police, Zwerner was “intentionally” shot by her student; the bullet entered her chest through her hand.
An anonymous Newport News administrator said that Richneck Elementary leadership “failed to keep [Zwerner] safe” but questioned the resignation.
“As an administrator, it is our priority to keep the students and staff safe; any and every threat must be taken seriously,” the administrator said.
“However, the forced resignation of one of the administrators from Richneck does not resolve the failure of the district as a whole to put procedures in place to prevent this from happening again.”
This has been the district’s third shooting in the past year and a half.
“Nothing, from additional training to getting more security equipment at the school level, has changed in response to these shootings,” said the unnamed administrator
“I am honestly tired of going to school stressed, hoping this isn’t the day something happens at my school.”
