Virginia Teacher Shot By 6-Year-Old Student Awarded $10 Million In Damages

The jury found that former assistant principal Ebony Parker acted with gross negligence.

A Virginia jury has awarded $10 million in damages to former first-grade teacher Abby Zwerner, who was shot by a 6-year-old student in January 2023.

The jury agreed with Zwerner that then-assistant principal Ebony Parker acted with gross negligence by failing to respond to repeated warnings that the child had a firearm. Zwerner was injured at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia. A bullet tore through her left hand and into her chest, requiring Zwerner to undergo multiple surgeries.

“This tragedy could have been prevented,” attorney Diane Toscano told reporters outside the courthouse. Toscano called the verdict “an acknowledgment of every teacher’s right to be safe at work.”

During closing arguments, Zwerner’s lawyer Kevin Biniazan said Parker “had the entire puzzle” of warning signs but chose to treat Jan. 6, 2023, “like any other day.”

“A gun changes everything,” he added. “You stop and you investigate.”

Parker’s attorney, Sandra Douglas, countered that the shooting was “unprecedented, unthinkable, and unforeseeable” and asked jurors not to “compound that tragedy by blaming Dr. Parker.”

Zwerner, 27, testified that she believed she was dying after being shot. “I thought I was either on my way to heaven or in heaven,” she said. “But then it all got black.” She did remember waking up surrounded by staff.

Parker has been criminally charged with eight counts of felony child abuse with disregard for life. Each charge coincides with the number of bullets in the child’s gun, according to the Newport News Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office. Her trial is set for later this month.

The child’s mother, Deja Taylor, is serving two years in state prison for child neglect. Taylor has also completed a 21-month federal sentence for firearm and drug offenses.

The civil verdict is among the largest school-related negligence awards in Virginia’s history. Education safety advocates say it may set a precedent for greater accountability in U.S. school districts when school staffs fail to act on credible threats.