On Monday, the Virginia teacher, who was shot by her 6-year-old student at Richneck Elementary School, filed a $40 million lawsuit against school officials.
Abby Zwerner, 25, is accusing school officials of gross negligence for allegedly ignoring multiple warning signs on the day of the shooting that the boy had a gun and was in a “violent mood.”
Zwener was shot in the hand and chest in her classroom earlier this year. She spent nearly two weeks in the hospital and has had four surgeries since the shooting.
The Newport News School Board, former Superintendent George Parker III, former Richneck Principal Briana Foster Newton, and former Richneck Assistant Principal Ebony Parker are all named defendants.
“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 states.
In the hours before the shooting, school staff members warned administrators repeatedly.
The lawsuit states that Parker “had no response, refusing even to look up at (Zwerner) when she expressed her concerns.”
Multiple students also warned reading specialist Amy Kovac that the boy had told them he had a gun in his backpack.
When asked, the boy denied having a weapon and refused to show Kovac his bag.
According to reports, Kovac told Ebony Parker that the boy had told students he had a gun. Parker allegedly said his “pockets were too small to hold a handgun and did nothing,” the lawsuit states.
On another occasion, students told the music teacher the boy “had shown him a firearm he had in his pocket during recess.”
Parker was again warned, but she said the backpack had already been searched and “took no further action.”
Moments later, the boy took his gun out of his pocket and shot Zwerner in the face and chest.
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