Jurors in Virginia heard emotional testimony Tuesday about how school officials allegedly ignored warnings that a 6-year-old student was carrying a gun before shooting his teacher at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News. Abigail Zwerner, 25, was shot through the hand and chest by her first-grade student on January 6, 2023, leaving her with a bullet still lodged in her body.
Zwerner’s attorney, Diane Toscano, told jurors that former assistant principal Ebony Parker dismissed multiple staff reports about the armed child. “Who would think a 6-year-old is going to bring a gun to school and shoot their teacher? Dr. Parker’s job is to believe that is possible,” Toscano said during opening statements, according to Fox News.
Parker’s attorney, Daniel Hogan, countered that no one could have predicted the tragedy, arguing, “No one could have imagined that a 6-year-old first-grade student would bring a firearm into a school.” Parker resigned after the shooting and faces separate criminal charges while serving as the sole defendant in Zwerner’s $40 million lawsuit.
Several witnesses testified that Parker was warned repeatedly about the potential danger. Reading specialist Amy Kovac told jurors that when she and Zwerner reported the child’s threats and behavior, Parker refused to act. Kovac recalled Parker saying, “Well, he has little pockets,” when staff urged her to search the boy. Ninety minutes later, the 6-year-old opened fire in Zwerner’s classroom.
Human resources director Dr. Nina Farrish testified that Parker later admitted she had been told about the gun before the shooting. Zwerner’s sister, Hannah, described how the young teacher has withdrawn since the attack, saying, “She’s just not the person that she was.”
