School Board Where Boy, 6, Shot VA Teacher Asks Court To Halt Lawsuit

NEWPORT NEWS, VA — Attorneys for the school board of Newport News City Public Schools, where a 6-year-old student shot his teacher last year, have asked the Virginia Supreme Court to overturn a ruling allowing the teacher to sue the district for $40 million, according to a report.

The school board, along with former superintendent George Parker, also filed a motion asking a lower court to dismiss the lawsuit, claiming they are immune from liability in the shooting, the Virginian-Pilot reported.

In the petition to the state Supreme Court, attorneys argued the circuit court was wrong to rule the shooting did not stem from Zwerner’s employment because it focused on the use of a gun rather than the circumstances around her injury, the report said.

"Neither the parties nor the circuit court cited any legal precedent where the instrumentality used was a dispositive factor in determining whether the injury ‘arose out of’ employment, and none appears to exist," the petition reads.

In November, a judge ruled that Abigail Zwerner, who was shot while teaching at Richneck Elementary School, could move forward with a $40 million lawsuit against the district.

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The Newport News school board previously asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit, claiming Zwerner's injuries fell under the state's workers compensation act and could not be addressed through a lawsuit.

The judge disagreed, concluding that Zwerner's injuries "did not arise out of her employment" and therefore did not "fall within the exclusive provisions of workers' compensation coverage."

The judge wrote: "The danger of being shot by a student is not one that is peculiar or unique to the job of a first-grade teacher."

Newport News police accused the 6-year-old boy of shooting Zwerner inside her classroom on Jan. 6, 2023. Police said the boy took his mother's 9mm handgun to school, pulled it from his backpack and used it to shoot Zwerner.

Police Chief Steve Drew has repeatedly characterized the shooting as "intentional," saying the boy aimed at Zwerner and fired one round, striking her in the hand and chest. The shot resulted in severe injuries, including a lung collapse.

In April, the boy's mother, Deja Taylor, was charged with felony child neglect in connection with the shooting. She pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two years in prison.

Before the mother's arrest, Zwener filed a $40 million lawsuit alleging school administrators ignored multiple warnings that the boy posed a threat.

Zwerner's complaint claimed Richneck Assistant Principal Ebony Parker chose to "breach her assumed duty" to protect Zwerner "despite multiple reports that a firearm was on school property and likely in possession of a violent individual."

Zwerner also alleges that school officials knew the boy "had a history of random violence" at school and home, including that he "strangled and choked" his kindergarten teacher.

Other defendants in the lawsuit include former Richneck principal Briana Foster Newton. Ebony Parker resigned after the shooting, while the board voted to remove George Parker "without cause," and Newton was transferred to a different role within the district.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.