Newport News Teacher Shot By Six-Year-Old Student Allowed To Proceed With Lawsuit Against School Board • Hollywood Unlocked

Abigail Zwerner, the Newport News teacher who a six-year-old student shot, is permitted to move forward with her $40 million lawsuit against school board officials, a judge ruled.

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On Friday, Newport News circuit court judge Matthew Hoffman ruled in Zwerner’s favor after the local school district’s attorneys moved to dismiss the suit in April after claiming Zwerner was eligible for worker’s compensation because the incident occurred “in the course of her employment.” However, Hoffman wrote that “the danger of being shot by a student that is peculiar or unique to the job of a first-grade teacher.”

According to USA Today, the ruling could help Zwerner receive compensation of more than the ten years of pay and lifetime medical care she is eligible for under the Virginia Worker’s Compensation Act. Anne Lahren, an attorney for the Newport News school board, said in a statement that they disagreed with Hoffman’s ruling and stated that “the actual risk of employment in this scenario is that of a teacher being injured at the hands of a student which, unfortunately, is a fairly common occurrence and one that is only increasing in frequency this day and age.”

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Zwerner’s lawsuit was filed months after the shooting, and Zwerner accused the school board of “negligence, gross negligence, and reckless disregard in their refusal to immediately report that a student at Richneck Elementary School had illegally carried a firearm onto school property.” As previously reported, the bullet went through her hand and entered her chest, which led to four surgeries, and she spent two weeks in a hospital. Zwerner resigned from her position in March, and her last day of work was June 12.

The student’s mother, Deja Taylor, pleaded guilty to felony child neglect and gun charges in August. She faces up to six months in prison for the charges. Before the shooting, the student had a history of behavior issues, and the school mandated Taylor to keep her son company during the semester. The shooting reportedly happened a week after the policy ended, and days before, the boy grabbed Zwerner’s phone and smashed it on the ground. However, Taylor said her son knocked down the phone by accident during an interview with Good Morning America. The boy also told police that he stole the gun from his mother’s dresser because he “needed to shoot” Zwerner.

She accepted the plea deal for a separate federal gun charge for illegal drug use while owning a firearm and lying about her apparent drug use when purchasing the gun. A judge delayed a hearing for Taylor’s sentencing for child neglect charges to December 15.