NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — The teacher shot by a 6-year-old student at Richneck Elementary School on Jan. 6 has filed a $40 million lawsuit against the Newport News School Board — asserting that administrators were grossly negligent in allowing the shooting to take place.
Abigail Zwerner, 25, of York County, contends the first grader’s past behavior should have led to better safety protections for everyone. Instead, the complaint said, Richneck’s assistant principal ignored several stark warnings that the boy had a gun on him.
The complaint said Richneck’s assistant principal, Ebony Parker, would not even look at Zwerner when she first expressed concerns about how the 6-year-old was acting that day. Even after other students told teachers the boy had a gun, Parker would not allow him to be searched.
