Teacher Wins $10 Million After Being Shot by 6-Year-Old

Thu Nov 06 2025 22:47:41 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

In a landmark case, a Virginia jury has awarded $10 million to teacher Abby Zwerner, who was shot by a first-grader in January 2023. The suit accused the assistant principal of ignoring warnings about the child's possession of a gun.

Abby Zwerner, a first-grade teacher, was shot in the chest by a 6-year-old student while in class. A Virginia jury awarded her $10 million after she claimed the assistant principal, Ebony Parker, failed to act on alerts about the student's gun. Zwerner sustained severe injuries, requiring multiple surgeries and prompting significant public concern about school safety. Parker is facing additional criminal charges of child neglect.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (AP) — A jury in Virginia on Thursday awarded $10 million to a former teacher who was shot by a 6-year-old student and later accused an ex-administrator in a lawsuit of ignoring repeated warnings that the child had a gun.

The verdict came against Ebony Parker, a former assistant principal at Richneck Elementary School. Abby Zwerner was shot in January 2023 as she sat at a reading table in her classroom.

Zwerner, who had sought $40 million from Parker, spent nearly two weeks in the hospital and required six surgeries due to her injuries. The bullet narrowly missed her heart and still remains in her chest.

The shooting caused a national uproar, raising questions about gun access for children and school safety. Zwerner’s attorneys argued that Parker had a duty to protect her and acted negligently by failing to investigate claims from school staff about a gun in the student's backpack s hours before the incident.

Parker, who did not testify, is facing additional criminal charges related to child neglect.