Listen to this article Teacher Sues For $40 Million After Being Shot By 6-Year-Old Student
Introduction
Abby Zwerner, a first-grade teacher at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia, is suing school officials for $40 million. She alleges that her six-year-old student shot and seriously injured her due to the defendants’ gross negligence. Specifically, Zwerner claims that the defendants ignored multiple warnings about the student’s violent behavior.
Defendants
The defendants named in the lawsuit include Newport News School Board, former Superintendent George Parker III, former Richneck principal Briana Foster-Newton, and former Richneck assistant principal Ebony Parker.
Allegations
Zwerner’s attorneys allege that all of the defendants were aware of the student’s history of random violence at school and at home. The student had even “strangled and choked” his kindergarten teacher the year before. Despite this knowledge, the defendants allowed the student to remain in a regular class, where he eventually shot his teacher.
Negligence
Zwerner’s lawsuit accuses Newport News School Board, former Superintendent George Parker III, former Richneck principal Briana Foster-Newton, and former Richneck assistant principal Ebony Parker of gross negligence. She asserts that the defendants did not take necessary steps to safeguard her and other students and ignored several alerts on the day of the incident that the boy was armed and in a “violent mood,” thus failing to ensure the safety of the school environment.
Defendants’ Response
The defendants have not yet commented on the lawsuit.
