Teacher shot by 6-year-old student addresses the key question everyone’s been asking about that day in court

A Virginia teacher who was shot by her 6-year-old student has finally answered an important question in her lawsuit against the school. Abigail Zwerner used to teach first grade at Richneck Elementary. She is now suing the school’s former assistant principal, Ebony Parker, for $40 million.

Zwerner says Parker did nothing even after getting warned several times that the boy might have a gun at school. According to Fox News, the shooting took place on January 6, 2023, while Zwerner was teaching her class. She was only 25 years old at the time.

The boy fired a 9-millimeter handgun at her. The bullet went through her left hand first, then hit her chest. It came very close to her heart but missed it. The bullet is still inside her chest today. Zwerner believes Parker should have done something to stop this from happening.

Everyone saw it coming, except the people who mattered most.

During a video shown in court, Zwerner was asked a straight question about that day. They wanted to know if she ever kept the boy away from the rest of her class on January 6, 2023. Her answer was clear and simple. She said no, she did not isolate him from the other students. This was one of the biggest questions people wanted answered because it helps explain what really happened that day.

Parker’s lawyers brought in two people who know a lot about schools and safety to back up their side of the story. Dr. Amy Klinger is one of them. She helps schools across the country stay safe and started a group called the Educator’s School Safety Network. She told everyone in court that she thinks Parker did what she was supposed to do. Klinger said Parker was not careless or uncaring toward Zwerner that day.

Someone asked Klinger if it made sense for Parker to wait before searching the child for a weapon. She said it did make sense.

The staff was being careful about how they handled things because they were dealing with such a young kid. Klinger explained that you cannot just search a 6-year-old child whenever you want, especially when you do not have strong proof that something is wrong. She kept pointing out how young the boy was.

Klinger also said nobody could have really known what the child was going to do based on what they knew at the time. “This is a 6-year-old, this is a little kid,” she said. “We are not going to just at will start doing body searches on kids, especially when there isn’t good information that would support that at that point.”

In other classroom news, a 24-year-old teacher was terminated after one comment in her classroom video sparked controversy.

The other person who spoke for the defense was Dr. Leigh Hagan. He studies how the mind works and uses that knowledge in legal cases. He talked about what rules people in his field follow when they look at cases like this one.

The lawyers working for the Newport News School Board keep saying the same thing. They believe nobody could have guessed a 6-year-old would do something like this. They think Parker made smart choices that day.

Parker has her own legal problems to deal with too. She has to go to trial for eight serious charges of child neglect. The boy’s mother, Deja Taylor, is already in prison. She admitted she was guilty of federal gun charges and child neglect. She will be there for two years. Meanwhile, an elementary school teacher has been sharing inspirational classroom videos that have caught attention online.