Virginia Teacher Wins $10 Million In Lawsuit Over Being Shot By 6-year-old In School

A erstwhile adjunct main ignored informing signs that a 6-year-old Virginia boy brought a weapon to school, an enactment of gross negligence that led to nan avoidable shooting of nan youngster's first-grade teacher, civilian jurors recovered connected Thursday.

The sheet of 3 men and 4 women sided pinch erstwhile coach Abigail Zwerner and awarded her $10 cardinal successful damages stemming from her wounding connected Jan. 6, 2023, astatine Richneck Elementary School successful Newport News.

Zwerner was changeable successful nan manus and thorax by nan boy, who could've been stopped by adjunct main Ebony Parker, nan coach said successful her lawsuit.

A Richneck coach testified past week that she informed Parker astir students telling her that nan boy had a weapon successful his backpack.

Another coach testified that she relayed nan aforesaid interest to Parker aft a student alerted her to nan boy having a gun.

The limb wasn't taken from him until he changeable Zwerner.

There were clear schoolhouse guidelines that called for Parker to return action erstwhile nan suspect was told astir a imaginable threat, Zwerner's attorney, Kevin Biniazan, told jurors connected Wednesday.

"What does that mean? That intends you can’t instrumentality your caput successful nan sand," he said. "You cannot instrumentality your caput successful nan soil and past travel into tribunal and say, 'I didn’t person nan accusation erstwhile it was your occupation to find it.'"

Parker's lawyer, Sandra Douglas, based on that her client’s perceived deficiency of action didn't magnitude to gross negligence.

"Dr. Parker did not person a ineligible work to protect Miss Zwerner," Douglas told jurors. "She did not unpaid to protect Miss Zwerner."

In a abstracted ineligible matter, Parker is facing criminal charges of felony child maltreatment and neglect for her alleged indifference.

That lawsuit should get started successful precocious November, pinch Zwerner placed successful nan overseas position — successful position of individual financial summation — of seeking Parker's acquittals.

On paper, this civilian verdict against Parker should beryllium paid for by nan Virginia Risk Sharing Association (VRSA), an security excavation made up of galore nationalist bodies statewide, including nan Newport News School Board.

But if Parker is recovered blameworthy of crimes tied to this 2023 shooting, security issuers could person a beardown lawsuit to absolve themselves from having to salary Zwerner.

Managers of nan security excavation could reason that, pinch a blameworthy verdict successful hand, criminal action by nan suspect took nan schoolhouse worker retired of their purview, said University of Richmond rule professor Jack Preis.

"There's times successful which nan courts will say, 'Listen, you've efficaciously misbehaved truthful overmuch that you've mislaid your job, you've near your occupation for that moment, and truthful we're not responsible for covering thing because you fundamentally abdicated your role,' " Preis told NBC News.

But moreover if Parker were convicted of criminal charges straight tied to nan shooting, Preis said security managers mightiness consciousness unit to compensate Zwerner.

The rule schoolhouse professor likened this imaginable script to a genitor paying for their 17-year-old boy causing harm by egging a location connected Halloween night.

"That's his (the teenager's) fault. I'm not liable for that and I don't carnivore responsibility," Preis said.

"But I mightiness conscionable determine that, 'You cognize what, it's my kid and he shouldn't person been doing that. It's not technically my fault, but personification other retired location suffered $500 worthy of harm and I should conscionable spell up and screen it.' Here, personification mightiness say, 'I want nan plaintiff, nan victim, to person immoderate compensation.' "