VA Teacher Shot By Boy, 6, Can Move Ahead With $40M Lawsuit

NEWPORT NEWS, VA — A judge on Friday ruled that Abigail Zwerner, who was shot in January by a 6-year-old student while teaching at a Newport News elementary school, can move forward with a $40 million lawsuit against the district, The Associated Press reported.

The Newport News school board previously asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit, claiming Zwerner's injuries fell under the state's workers compensation act and could not be addressed through a lawsuit.

Now, the surprise decision by Newport News Circuit Court Judge Matthew Hoffman means Zwerner could get much more than workers compensation for the severe injuries caused by the shooting.

Hoffman disagreed with the school board, concluding that Zwerner's injuries "did not arise out of her employment" and therefore did not "fall within the exclusive provisions of workers' compensation coverage."

The judge wrote: "The danger of being shot by a student is not one that is peculiar or unique to the job of a first-grade teacher."

Related:

• Child Neglect Sentencing Delayed For Mom Of Boy, 6, Who Shot Teacher
• Mother Of Boy, 6, Who Shot Teacher Avoids Jail After Failed Drug Tests

Newport News police accused the 6-year-old boy of shooting Zwerner inside a Richneck Elementary School classroom on Jan. 6. Police said the boy took his mother's 9mm handgun to school, pulled it from his backpack and used it to shoot Zwerner.

Police Chief Steve Drew has repeatedly characterized the shooting as "intentional," saying the boy aimed at Zwerner and fired one round, striking her in the hand and chest. The shot resulted in severe injuries, including a lung collapse.

In April, the boy's mother, 28-year-old Deja Taylor, was charged with charged with felony child neglect in connection with the shooting. She pleaded guilty and is scheduled to be sentenced in December.

Before the mother's arrest, Zwener filed a $40 million lawsuit alleging school administrators ignored multiple warnings that the boy posed a threat.

Zwerner's complaint, filed in Newport News Circuit Court, says Richneck Assistant Principal Ebony Parker chose to "breach her assumed duty" to protect Zwerner "despite multiple reports that a firearm was on school property and likely in possession of a violent individual," according to NBC News.

Zwerner also alleges that school officials knew the boy "had a history of random violence" at school and home, including that he "strangled and choked" his kindergarten teacher.

In addition to Parker, the defendants are the Newport News school board, former school Superintendent George Parker III, and Richneck principal Briana Foster Newton. Parker resigned after the shooting, while the board voted to remove Parker "without cause," and Newton was transferred to a different role within the district.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

MORE COVERAGE:

• Mom Of Boy, 6, Who Shot Teacher Facing New Drug-Related Gun Charges
• VA Boy 'Really Liked' Teacher He Shot, Mother Says
• VA School Board Wants Abigail Zwerner's $40M Lawsuit Tossed
• Mother Of Boy, 6, Who Shot VA Teacher Was Depressed, Attorney Says
• VA School Where Boy, 6, Shot Teacher At Center Of Criminal Probe
• Mother Of VA 6-Year-Old Indicted After Elementary School Shooting
• 'I Thought I Had Died': VA Teacher Recounts Classroom Shooting