A Virginia jury has awarded $10 million to a former elementary school teacher who was shot by her 6-year-old student, ruling that a school administrator ignored repeated warnings that the child had a gun.
The verdict, delivered Thursday, found former assistant principal Ebony Parker liable for negligence in the January 2023 shooting at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News. The victim, Abby Zwerner, had sought $40 million in damages.
Zwerner was shot while sitting at a reading table with her first-grade class. The bullet struck her in the chest, narrowly missing her heart. She spent nearly two weeks in hospital, underwent six surgeries, and still lacks full use of her left hand. A bullet fragment remains lodged in her chest.
After the decision, Zwerner declined to speak to reporters. Her lawyer, Diane Toscano, praised the verdict, saying it “sends a message that what happened at the school was wrong and is not going to be tolerated, that safety has to be the first concern at school.”
Parker was the only remaining defendant after a judge dismissed the district’s superintendent and the principal from the case earlier this year.
The shooting shocked the Newport News community and raised national alarm over gun access and school safety. The case also reignited debate over accountability in the education system, particularly around administrators’ duty to act on safety warnings.
Authorities said the 6-year-old used his mother’s handgun in the attack. The child was too young to be charged under state law, but his mother was later convicted for child neglect and for failing to secure her firearm.
The Newport News school district has since announced new safety protocols, including stricter gun security awareness programs and enhanced staff training.
