Virginia jury awards $10 million to teacher shot by 6-year-old student

A Newport News jury on Thursday awarded $10 million to former Richneck Elementary teacher Abby (Abigail) Zwerner, who was shot by a six-year-old student in January 2023. The civil verdict found that the school’s former assistant principal, Ebony Parker, acted with gross negligence by failing to act on repeated warnings that the child may have a gun. 

Zwerner , who was shot while seated at a reading table in her first-grade classroom suffered serious injuries that required multiple surgeries. Jurors heard that the bullet passed through her left hand and remains lodged in her chest; she has not regained full use of her hand and spent nearly two weeks in hospital care. Zwerner had sought $40 million in damages. 

According to court testimony and reporting, school staff and students had alerted administrators on the day of the shooting that the child might have a weapon, but no search was carried out before the shooting occurred. Zwerner’s legal team argued those warnings were credible and that the assistant principal had a duty to protect students and staff; Parker’s defense said the shooting was unforeseeable. The jury’s verdict concluded the administrator’s failure to act amounted to gross negligence. 

The 9mm handgun used in the attack was taken from the home of the child’s mother. The student’s mother, Deja Taylor, was earlier convicted on federal and state charges tied to the case and was sentenced to prison for illegal possession and related offenses. Parker also faces a pending criminal trial on charges including child neglect, according to reporting. 

The verdict has drawn national attention because it frames accountability not only for parents who leave firearms accessible to children but also for school officials’ handling of threats inside classrooms. Legal analysts and education advocates say the case could influence future lawsuits and internal school-safety protocols as courts and communities wrestle with how to prevent and respond to rare but catastrophic incidents involving very young children and guns. 

Zwerner, who has since left teaching, testified during the trial and described the day of the shooting in emotional testimony reported by outlets covering the case. The school division and defendants have the option to appeal the civil judgment.