Former School Administrator Liable for $10M in Teacher Shooting

In a significant legal ruling, a Virginia jury has found a former elementary school administrator, Ebony Parker, liable for $10 million in the shooting of a first-grade teacher by a 6-year-old student nearly three years ago. The incident occurred in January 2023 at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia.

The former first-grade teacher, Abigail Zwerner, who was 25 at the time and had only been teaching for 2.5 years, sued Parker, the former vice principal, for gross negligence. Zwerner alleged that Parker failed to act on multiple warnings from staff that the 6-year-old boy had a gun and was behaving alarmingly on the day of the shooting.

During the three-day trial, the jury heard testimony from 16 witnesses describing the events that unfolded that day and the lasting impact on Zwerner, who still carries a bullet fragment in her body. Zwerner herself took the stand, recounting how she thought she was "going to heaven" when the young student opened fire, shooting her through the hand and chest.

The jury ultimately determined that the responsibility for the tragic incident rested with Parker, who had three opportunities to search the student for a weapon but chose not to. The defense argued that the shooting was unforeseeable, but the jury sided with Zwerner, holding Parker liable for the $10 million in damages.