US teacher shot by six-year-old student awarded $10m by jury
A former Virginia school teacher who was shot dead by a 6-year-old student two years ago has been awarded $10 million (£7.6 million) in damages by a jury.
Abigail Zwerner was seriously injured and had to undergo several surgeries after the incident. She testified at her trial that “I thought I was dead.”
Ms Zwerner launched a $40m (£31.5m) lawsuit against former school deputy head Ebony Parker, claiming Ms Parker failed to act when she was warned the young boy may have brought a gun to school that day.
On Thursday, the panel of three men and four women sided with the former teacher and found Ms Parker’s inaction to be an act of gross negligence.
In January 2023, the child fired a single shot at Ms. Zwerner while she was teaching her first grade class at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia. The bullet passed through his hand and entered his chest.
“The expression on the student’s face is the great memory I have,” Ms. Zwerner testified.
The court heard Ms Parker had been alerted to the presence of a gun about 45 minutes previously.
The lawsuit had argued that Ms. Parker committed “a willful act or omission in the care” of the elementary school students that was “so crude, wanton and culpable as to show reckless disregard for human life.”
It also describes an instance in which Ms. Zwerner allegedly told Ms. Parker that the child was in a violent mood and had made threats against another child.
Ms Parker reportedly “had no response” and refused to “even look up” when concerns about the child were raised with her.
Ms. Parker’s lawyer argued that she could not have known what was going to happen and that Ms. Zwerner had exaggerated the extent of her injuries.
A criminal case will follow the civil trial. Ms. Parker faces eight counts of child neglect, punishable by up to five years in prison.
The student’s mother was sentenced to nearly four years in prison on child neglect and federal weapons charges.
The student has not been accused of wrongdoing and is reportedly in the custody of a parent and enrolled in another school.
