It was a case that stunned a community and sent ripples through the world of public education: a first-grade teacher shot in her classroom by a student barely out of kindergarten. Now, nearly three years after the harrowing incident at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia, a jury has awarded $10 million in damages to Abby Zwerner, the teacher who survived the attack. The verdict, delivered on November 6, 2025, after five and a half hours of deliberation, found former assistant principal Ebony Parker grossly negligent for failing to act on multiple warnings that a 6-year-old boy had brought a gun to school.
The shooting occurred on January 6, 2023, in a scene that, as described by ABC News and The Washington Post, was both unthinkable and unprecedented. According to police reports, the young student pulled a 9mm handgun from his jacket pocket and shot Zwerner through her left hand, with the bullet ultimately lodging near her spine. Zwerner was rushed to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. "I thought I had died," Zwerner recalled on the witness stand. "I thought I was either on my way to heaven or in heaven. But then it all got black and so I then thought I wasn't going there. My next memory is, I see two co-workers around me, and I process that I'm hurt, and they're putting pressure on where I'm hurt."
The aftermath of the shooting was devastating. Zwerner underwent six surgeries and continues to suffer from pain, emotional distress, and post-traumatic stress disorder. She has completed a cosmetology program but has not yet started working, as her hand is still healing from the most recent surgery. The bullet remains lodged near her spine, a constant reminder of the day her life changed forever.
The civil lawsuit, originally seeking $40 million in damages, focused on Parker's actions—or lack thereof—on that fateful day. According to the complaint and a special grand jury report cited by The Washington Post, Parker was warned three separate times by teachers and staff that the boy may have brought a weapon to class. Yet, Parker failed to act, and staff were not permitted to search the student before the shooting occurred. "Those choices that she made to treat Jan. 6, 2023, like any other day, even though a gun should change everything, is why we're here," said Zwerner's attorney, Kevin Biniazan, during closing arguments. "A gun changes everything. You stop and you investigate. You get to the bottom of it to know whether that gun is real and on campus so you can deal with it. But that's not what happened."
Parker did not testify during the six-day trial and showed no reaction as the verdict was read in court. Her defense attorney, Sandra Douglas, argued that the events were unforeseeable and that it was a tragedy no one could have predicted. "It was a tragedy that, until that day, was unprecedented, it was unthinkable and it was unforeseeable, and I ask that you please not compound that tragedy by blaming Dr. Parker for it," Douglas told the jury. The defense also pointed out that other staff, including Zwerner herself, could have intervened, but the jury ultimately decided Parker bore the greatest responsibility, given the information she had.
The verdict is significant not only for Zwerner but also for the broader educational and legal landscape. As The Washington Post notes, it represents a rare civil finding of personal liability against a school administrator in a school-shooting case. The ruling followed Judge Matthew Hoffman's earlier decision that Zwerner's injuries were not covered exclusively by workers' compensation, as being shot by a student was not considered an expected occupational hazard for a teacher. This cleared the way for the civil trial to proceed, despite attempts by the Newport News School Board to have the case dismissed on those grounds.
Three other defendants—two school administrators and the Newport News School Board—were dismissed from the lawsuit ahead of the trial. Both Zwerner and Parker resigned from their positions following the shooting. The school division, like many in Virginia, participates in state-administered risk pools such as the Virginia Risk Sharing Association (VRSA) and the VaRISK 2 program for liability protection. While no specific insurer was named in court filings, legal experts suggest that if Zwerner's award is upheld, it will likely be paid, at least in part, through these public risk pools. However, the finding of gross negligence by the jury could complicate matters, as coverage exclusions for gross negligence are common, and post-verdict proceedings may focus on whether the award is fully covered.
"I remember just three years ago, almost to this day, hearing for the first time Abby's story and thinking that this could have been prevented," said Diane Toscano, another attorney for Zwerner, to reporters outside the courthouse. "So now to hear from a jury of her peers that they agree that this tragedy could have been prevented." Zwerner's legal team expressed satisfaction with the outcome, though they acknowledged there are still pending post-trial motions and possible appeals from the school board.
The consequences of the shooting have extended beyond the civil trial. Parker now faces eight felony child abuse charges—one for each bullet that was in the student's gun—with a criminal trial scheduled for later this month. The student, whose name has not been released due to his age, brought the firearm from home. His mother, Deja Taylor, was sentenced to two years in state prison for child neglect and served an additional 21 months for federal firearm and drug charges.
The case has sparked renewed debate about school safety, gun access, and the responsibilities of educators and administrators. For risk managers and insurers in the public education sector, the verdict highlights the complexities of coverage when sovereign immunity collides with personal liability and the growing exposure of schools to acts of violence once thought unimaginable. As The Washington Post observes, the legal and financial repercussions for Newport News—and for risk pools serving public school systems across the country—are only beginning to be felt.
Amid all the legal wrangling and policy implications, the human toll remains front and center. Zwerner's journey from the classroom to the courtroom has been marked by resilience and a determination to seek accountability. As her attorney, Biniazan, poignantly asked the jury, "What number do you arrive at for somebody who didn't want this and it's been inserted into her life like a bullet fragment against her spine?" For Zwerner, and for many watching across the nation, the hope is that lessons are learned—and that tragedies like this can, indeed, be prevented in the future.
