A Virginia teacher who was shot and critically hurt by her 6-year-old student filed a lawsuit Monday, demanding $40 million in damages from the school’s administrators. She accused them of willful misconduct and ignored numerous warnings that the boy was armed and in a “violent mood” on the day of the shooting”.
Abby Zwerner, The Teacher:
At Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Abby Zwerner teaches first grade. On Jan., As she sat at a reading desk in her classroom, she was in grade 6. The 25-year-old teacher required four surgeries and was hospitalized for nearly two weeks. Many people in the nation and the military shipbuilding community were shocked by the shooting and questioned how a young child could have access to a gun and shoot his teacher. According to Michelle Price, a board spokesperson, the case has not yet been served on the school board, who also noted that the school division refers all information regarding legal claims to its insurer.
Tributes:
The safety and well-being of faculty and students came first, according to a board statement, which continued, “Our thoughts and prayers remain with Abby Zwerner and her ongoing recovery”. “The School Board and the leadership team of the school division will continue to take all necessary steps to guarantee a secure teaching and learning environment in each of our schools. The previous superintendent, George Parker, was waiting to respond to a text. Ebony Parker still hasn’t responded to a message left on a phone number listed for her. Foster-Newton’s legal representative, Pamela Branch, has claimed that she was unaware of rumours that the boy had a gun at school the day of the shooting. No one has been put on trial. The boy will not face charges despite an ongoing investigation, according to the local prosecutor’s statement from last month.
A Lawsuit was Filed:
The boy “had a history of violence”, including an incident the year prior in which he “strangled and choked” his kindergarten teacher, according to Zwerner’s attorneys, who claim that all the defendants were aware of this in the lawsuit. According to the lawsuit, school administrators took the boy out of Richneck for the rest of the school year and transferred him to another campus, but they permitted him to return for the start of first grade in the fall of 2022. The lawsuit claims that the boy’s parents objected to enrolling him in special education classes where he would be placed with other children with behavioural problems. The lawsuit details a series of cautions that school staff members gave administrators in the hours before the shooting, starting with Zwerner, who went to Ebony Parker’s office between 11:15 and 11:20 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. the boy “was in a violent mood,”, they said.
What Happened?
Roughly 11:45 a.m. Amy Kovac, a reading specialist, was informed by two students that the boy was carrying a gun in his backpack. The lawsuit claims that although the boy denied it, he refused to give Kovac his bag. The boy was seen by Zwerner taking something from his pack and putting it in his sweatshirt pocket, she reported to Kovac. After that, Kovac looked through the bag but came up empty-handed. The boy had disclosed his gun possession to students, Kovac informed Ebony Parker. The teacher called the office and relayed what the boy had said to the music teacher, who answered the phone. According to the lawsuit, the music teacher claimed that when he told Parker about the backpack, she responded that it had already been searched and “took no further action.”. The lawsuit claims that the boy took the gun out of his pcket about an hour later, pointed it at Zwerner, and shot her. According to the case, Zwerner sustained irreparable bodily harm, physical suffering, mental anguish, lost wages, and other losses. It demands compensatory damages of $40 million. The boy used his mother’s gun, which the police claimed was legally purchased. The boy’s family’s lawyer, Ellenson, has previously stated that the weapon was locked on a high closet shelf.
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