A former Virginia teacher told civil jurors on Thursday she thought she was dead or about to die in the moments after she was shot by a 6-year-old boy at school two years ago.
Abigail Zwerner spoke slowly and at times struggled with her emotions, explaining how she was severely injured on Jan. 6, 2023, at Richneck Elementary in Newport News.
“I thought I was dying, I thought I had died,” she told the jury of three men and six women. “I thought I was on my way to heaven or in heaven. But then it all got black.”
The plaintiff’s testimony is at the heart of her $40 million civil lawsuit against former assistant principal Ebony Parker, who allegedly ignored several warnings about the boy who shot Zwerner.
The attack was totally preventable had Parker acted on clear signs the boy posed a threat, Zwerner said in her civil complaint.
The bullet, fired by the child, tore through Zwerner’s hand before it struck her in the chest, where it remains today. A doctor testified earlier in this trial that it’d be far more dangerous to remove that round than to leave it alone.
To this day, Zwerner said she struggles with basic physical tasks. The plaintiff recalled having lunch recently with her lawyer and failing to open a bag of potato chips, after trying to rip it at different angles.
“And I eventually asked you to open it, the same thing with water bottles,” Zwerner said.
The psychological scars of the shooting are still fresh and painful, the plaintiff said.
She recalled how loved ones had planned to see the movie “Hamilton” before breaking down the morning of, realizing there’d be scenes of dueling in the famous musical.
“I felt like everything just came over my body,” the educator said. “I remember crying a lot, and I remember that afterwards.”
Her family asked what she’d like to do in place of going to that movie.
“I remember saying or telling them ‘nowhere,’ like I can’t go anywhere,” Zwerner said. “I just want to stay home. I’m not going anywhere today.”
A Richneck teacher testified earlier this week that she told the assistant principal about the weapon three times after students had tipped her off about the boy having a gun in his backpack.
Another teacher testified that she also shared similar information with Parker after a different student alerted her about the boy having a gun.
Under cross-examination on Thursday, Parker’s attorney inferred that Zwerner, herself, could or should have taken more decisive action against the gun-wielding youngster.
Zwerner testified that another teacher had told her she was going to report the child to Parker. At that point, Zwerner said she felt safe knowing that a superior was aware of the threat.
“I didn’t (take any other action), honestly didn’t think twice,” she said. “ It was my understanding that the administration wouldn’t think twice as well when alerted about a potential gun in school.”
The educator told NBC’s “TODAY” show, three months after the shooting that the attack left her with permanent emotional wounds.
“I’m not sure when the shock will ever go away because of just how surreal it was and, you know, the vivid memories that I have of that day,” Zwerner said at the time. “I think about it daily. Sometimes I have nightmares.”
When Zwerner originally filed her civil complaint, Parker, the school district and several other administrators were named as defendants. The case was eventually whittled down to Parker as the lone defendant.
On paper, any civil verdict against Parker would be paid by the Virginia Risk Sharing Association (VRSA), an insurance pool made up of many public bodies statewide, including the Newport News School Board.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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