A disturbing incident captured on bodycam footage revealed the aftermath of a teacher being shot by one of her young students. Abby Zwerner was left bloodied after her six-year-old pupil shot her hand, chest, and punctured a lung. Despite her injuries, Zwerner managed to evacuate the other children before collapsing. The footage, presented in court as part of Zwerner’s lawsuit against the former assistant principal of a Virginia primary school, showed her lying on the floor in a pool of blood.
Zwerner filed a lawsuit alleging that the assistant principal, Ebony Parker, ignored warnings from staff about the possibility of the boy being armed that day. The shooting occurred at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia, in January 2023, while Zwerner was reading with her students. Following the incident, Zwerner underwent multiple surgeries, spent nearly two weeks in the hospital, and still has a bullet lodged in her chest. She has lost the use of her left hand and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, leading her to resign from her teaching position.
The court viewed the distressing footage as part of the ongoing legal battle. Zwerner is seeking compensation for her sustained injuries and trauma. Attorney Diane Toscano argued that Parker’s actions on that day were negligent. The jury learned that the shooting occurred when the boy returned to school after a suspension for breaking the teacher’s phone just two days prior.
In defense, Parker’s attorney, Daniel Hogan, claimed that no one could have predicted a six-year-old bringing a firearm to school, arguing that the incident was unforeseeable. He emphasized the difficulty of judging decisions made before the event occurred. Claims against the school’s principal and district superintendent were previously dismissed by the judge.
The boy’s mother, Deja Taylor, received a nearly four-year prison sentence for child neglect and weapons charges. Her son, now under the care of his great-grandfather at a different school, admitted to obtaining the handgun from his mother’s purse. Taylor initially claimed the gun was secured with a trigger lock, but investigators found no evidence of one.