Virginia Jury Awards $10 Million to Teacher Shot by Student
A jury in Newport News, Virginia, on Thursday awarded $10 million to Abby Zwerner, a former first-grade teacher, who was shot by a 6-year-old student in January 2023. The verdict was returned against Ebony Parker, a former assistant principal at Richneck Elementary School.
Incident and Injuries
Ms. Zwerner was shot while seated at a reading table in her classroom. She spent nearly two weeks hospitalized and underwent six surgeries. She retains a bullet near her heart in her chest and experiences limited use of her left hand. Ms. Zwerner no longer works for the school district and has since obtained a cosmetologist license.
Lawsuit Allegations and Defense
Ms. Zwerner’s lawsuit sought $40 million, alleging that Ms. Parker failed to act on multiple warnings from school staff members who reported that the student possessed a gun in his backpack in the hours leading up to the shooting. Ms. Parker did not provide testimony during the trial. Her attorney, Daniel Hogan, cautioned jurors against applying hindsight bias when evaluating decisions made prior to the incident.
A judge previously dismissed the district's superintendent and the school principal from the lawsuit, leaving Ms. Parker as the sole defendant.
Related Legal Proceedings
The shooting occurred on the student's first day back at school following a suspension. The student's mother was sentenced to nearly four years in prison for felony child neglect and federal weapons charges. Authorities reported the student obtained his mother's handgun from her purse, which was on top of a dresser.
Ms. Parker is scheduled to face a separate criminal trial this month on eight counts of felony child neglect. Each count carries a potential sentence of up to five years in prison upon conviction.