The Virginia elementary school teacher who was shot by her 6-year-old student is going to sue the school district, according to her attorney.
Abigail Zwerner, 25, was shot by her male student on Jan. 6 at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia. The student, whose name has not been released, used a legally purchased gun owned by his mother to shoot Zwerner.
Zwerner’s lawyer, Diana Toscano, said on Wednesday that on the day of the shooting, concerned teachers and employees warned administrators that the boy may have had a gun on him and had been threatening other students, something Superintendent George Parker admitted to in a town hall on Jan. 12.
Toscano said the administration “could not be bothered” with this information, according to the Associated Press. However, Parker had said that school officials checked the student’s backpack when he arrived late to school in response to the concerns but did not find a weapon.
It is unclear how the boy got the weapon into the classroom. The firearm was “secured,” according to the family’s statement through their attorney released last week.
Attorney James Ellenson, who is representing the child’s family, released a new statement to the Washington Examiner on Wednesday in response to the teacher’s expected lawsuit.
“On behalf of the family of the child, we continue to pray for Ms. Zwerner and wish her a complete and full recovery,” Ellenson said. “Our hearts go out to all involved.”
Police Chief Steve Drew said that the shooting was intentional. The boy fired once from a 9 mm firearm, striking Zwerner through the side of her hand into her upper chest. She was hospitalized for nearly two weeks but is now recovering at home, according to the hospital.
The boy remains in the hospital under a temporary detention order and is going through evaluation and treatment. His family said he has an “acute disability” and that usually, one of his parents attends classes with him. Jan. 6 was the first day a parent did not go with him to school.
“We will regret our absence on this day for the rest of our lives,” the family said.
The shooting shifted the district’s focus to reevaluating its school safety procedures and measures because there were no metal detectors at the school for the students to walk through, which the gun would have likely set off.
The school board obtained 90 metal detectors to be installed at Richneck Elementary and every other school in the district, Board Chairwoman Lisa Surles-Law has said.
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The Newport News School Board is set to hold a special meeting Wednesday evening to vote on a separation agreement and a severance package for Parker, as well as an interim superintendent, according to the meeting agenda.
The Washington Examiner reached out to Surles-Law and an attorney for comment.
