A jury in Virginia has awarded $10 million to a former teacher who was shot in 2023 by a 6-year-old student.
NBC News reports that the jury sided with former teacher Abby Zwerner's assertion that her school's assistant principal ignored warnings that the first-grade student brought a gun to school on Jan. 6, 2023.
Zwerner was shot in the hand and chest in her classroom at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News. Zwerner subsequently filed a lawsuit against the assistant principal, Ebony Parker, arguing that the shooting could have been prevented if Parker had acted on warnings that the boy had a gun.
Parker is facing criminal charges of felony child abuse in connection with the shooting and is scheduled to go on trial later this month.
During the trial on Zwerner's lawsuit, a Richneck teacher testified that she informed Parker about students telling her that the boy had a gun in his backpack. Another instructor testified that she relayed the same concern to Parker after a student alerted her that the boy had a gun.
The weapon wasn't taken from him until after he shot Zwerner.
In closing arguments, Zwerner's attorney, Kevin Biniazan, said the school had clear guidelines that called for Parker to take action once the she was told about a possible threat.
"That means you can’t stick your head in the sand," Biniazan said. "You cannot stick your head in the sand and then come into court and say, 'I didn’t have the information' when it was your job to find it."
Parker's lawyer, Sandra Douglas, argued that her client’s perceived lack of action didn't amount to gross negligence.
"Dr. Parker did not have a legal duty to protect Miss Zwerner," Douglas told jurors. "She did not volunteer to protect Miss Zwerner."
The student brought the gun from home, police said. His mother, Deja Taylor, was sentenced to two years in prison for child neglect in connection with the shooting.
