A Virginia jury has awarded former schoolteacher Abigail Zwerner $10 million (£7.6m) in damages after finding a former school administrator liable for gross negligence in a 2023 classroom shooting that left her seriously injured.
Zwerner, who was shot by a 6-year-old student at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, sustained life-threatening wounds to her hand and chest and required multiple surgeries. During her testimony, she recalled, “I thought I had died.”
She had sued former assistant principal Ebony Parker for $40 million (£31.5m), alleging Parker ignored repeated warnings that the boy may have brought a gun to school that day. Witnesses told the court Parker was alerted about the potential threat roughly 45 minutes before the shooting, yet failed to act.
The jury of seven sided with Zwerner, ruling Parker’s inaction showed “reckless disregard for human life.”
Parker’s attorney argued she could not have foreseen the attack and disputed the extent of Zwerner’s injuries. Parker now faces a separate criminal case, charged with eight counts of felony child neglect, each carrying up to five years in prison.
The child’s mother has already been sentenced to nearly four years in prison for child neglect and federal firearms violations. The boy himself was not charged and is currently living with a relative while attending another school.
