Teacher shot by 6 year old student sues school, superintendent, and principals for $40 mil

quote:

---

Teacher shot by 6-year-old student files lawsuit against school administrators for lack of action leading up to shooting

---

quote:

---

The first-grade teacher shot by a 6-year-old student in her Newport News, Virginia, classroom earlier this year filed a lawsuit against school administrators and the school board Monday alleging they were aware of the student’s “history of random violence” and did not act proactively amid concerns over a firearm in the boy’s possession the day of the shooting, according to the lawsuit obtained by CNN.

---

quote:

---

The suit also alleges the school’s assistant principal ignored concerns and warning signs flagged by several teachers and staff members, including that the 6-year-old may have had a firearm in his possession in the hours leading up to the January 6 shooting, which left Zwerner hospitalized after a bullet went through her hand and into her chest.

Assistant Principal Ebony Parker, a defendant in the lawsuit, ignored “at least three separate warnings from teachers and staff that students had seen the firearm” and that the student had “removed an object that was likely a firearm from his backpack before it was searched,” the complaint filed in Virginia Circuit Court for the City of Newport News states.

Upon being told by a school staff member that the student had taken the firearm from his backpack and put it into the pocket of his hoodie sweatshirt, Parker responded saying his “pockets were too small to hold a handgun” and went on to ignore staff members’ concerns, according to the lawsuit.

A guidance counselor and administrator at the elementary school said Parker also “forbade” teachers from searching the 6-year-old for a firearm, saying his “mother would be arriving soon to pick him up,” the complaint says.

---

quote:

---

During the first half of the school year, the 6-year-old was required to be accompanied by a parent during the school day “because of his violent tendencies.” But that day, school administrators “allowed him to remain unaccompanied without a one-on-one companion during the school day,” the complaint says.

---

quote:

---

The lawsuit alleges that during the 2021-2022 school year, while in kindergarten, the 6-year-old strangled and choked a teacher; and that same year, he pulled up a female classmate’s dress and touched her inappropriately on the school playground.

The complaint goes on to say that all defendants knew the child was removed from the elementary school and sent to Denbigh Early Childhood Center during the 2021-2022 school year “for demonstrating violent behavior.”

Richneck Elementary teachers would regularly bring the student’s behavior to the attention of school administration but their “concerns were always dismissed,” according to the lawsuit.

---

quote:

---

The lawsuit alleges that other students who were sent to Parker’s office for disciplinary action “would return to the classroom bragging about candy they had received.” As a result, “Parker’s administrative style was to permit students to engage in dangerous and disruptive conduct and impose no consequence for breaking the rules,” according to the lawsuit.

---

quote:

---

Attorneys for Zwerner are claiming $40 million in damages from the City of Newport News School Board and the school district superintendent, as well as Richneck Elementary School’s principal and assistant principal at the time of the shooting.

---