US Teacher Shot By 6-Year-Old, Living With Bullet In Chest, Wins $10 Million Suit Against Principal

Abigail “Abby” Zwerner exits the courtroom after hearing the verdict in her lawsuit against the assistant principal, Ebony Parker, of Richneck Elementary School during proceedings at Newport News Circuit Court. (IMAGE: AP)

A Virginia jury awarded $10 million to former teacher Abby Zwerner who was shot by a 6-year-old student in January 2023 as it sided with her claim that an ex-assistant principal ignored repeated warnings that the child had a gun.

The jury returned its decision against Ebony Parker, a former assistant principal at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News. Zwerner was shot while she sat at a reading table inside her classroom. She had initially sought $40 million against Parker in the lawsuit.

The teacher spent nearly two weeks in the hospital, required six surgeries and does not have the full use of her left hand. A bullet narrowly missed her heart and remains in her chest.

The shooting sent shock waves through the US, leaving many wondering how a child so young could gain access to a gun and shoot his teacher.

Zwener’s attorney told the jury that ex-principal Ebony Parker failed to act in the hours before the shooting after several school staff members told her that the student had a gun in his backpack.

The shooting occurred on the first day after the student had returned from a suspension for slamming Zwerner’s phone two days earlier.

Zwerner testified she first heard about the gun prior to class recess from a reading specialist who had been tipped off by students. The shooting occurred a few hours later. Despite her injuries, Zwerner was able to hustle her students out of the classroom. She eventually passed out in the school office.

Zwerner testified she believed that she had died that day.

“I thought I was either on my way to heaven or in heaven,” Zwerner said. “But then it all got black. And so, I then thought I wasn’t going there. And then my next memory is I see two co-workers around me and I process that I’m hurt and they’re putting pressure on where I’m hurt.”

Zwerner no longer works for the school district and has said she has no plans to teach again. She has since become a licensed cosmetologist.