NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
A Virginia jury has reached a verdict in the landmark civil case between an elementary school teacher shot by her 6-year-old student and a school administrator, with both sides sparring over who was responsible for alerting officials that a child was in possession of a gun on school grounds.
After roughly a half day of deliberations, the jury ruled in favor of Abigail Zwerner, a now-former teacher at Richneck Elementary School, and awarded her $10 million in damages.
The outcome comes after Zwerner filed a $40 million lawsuit against ex-assistant principal Ebony Parker alleging Parker dismissed concerns regarding a student potentially bringing a gun to school.
“This verdict is a major step forward in Abby’s long road of healing,” Zwerner’s legal team said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “It confirms what we’ve said from the beginning — what happened inside Richneck Elementary was wrong and will never be tolerated. When the City of Newport News and its schools failed to protect their teachers, students, and citizens, we held them accountable through the courts. Now it’s time for the City to ensure Abby receives the justice this verdict represents.”
TWO TEACHERS SAY VIRGINIA SCHOOL IGNORED WARNINGS BEFORE 6-YEAR-OLD SHOT EDUCATOR
Zwerner’s legal team alleged the dismissal resulted in their client being shot in the chest and hand on Jan. 6, 2023. The bullet narrowly missed Zwerner’s heart and remains lodged in her chest.
In closing arguments on Wednesday, Zwerner’s attorney, Kevin Biniazan, blasted Parker’s alleged failure to respond to repeated reports that the child was in possession of a gun on school grounds.
“A gun changes everything,” Biniazan said, according to WAVY. “You stop and you investigate.”
Zwerner’s team reportedly added that Parker allegedly ignored multiple attempts by school faculty to warn her about the child’s behavior leading up to the shooting.
VIRGINIA TEACHER SHOT BY 6-YEAR-OLD STUDENT ‘THOUGHT SHE WAS DEAD’ AS BODYCAM EMERGES
However, Parker’s attorney, Sandra Douglas, argued that her client used “real-time judgement, not hindsight judgements” in the moments leading up to the shooting, according to the outlet.
“Your job is to consider only what Dr. Parker knew at the time,” Douglas reportedly told the jury.
Parker’s attorney went on to question Zwerner’s testimony in court, looking to poke holes in her claims of becoming a “recluse” after the shooting, the outlet reported.
“I’m not minimizing what happened to Ms. Zwerner, I’m not doing that,” Douglas said. “But when someone is asking for $40 million, it’s my job to tell you, there is another side to that story.”
TEACHER SHOT BY 6-YEAR-OLD TELLS JURORS SHE NEVER PULLED CHILD FROM CLASS AS DEFENSE EXPERTS BACK OFFICIALS
However, Biniazan argued in his rebuttal that Zwerner’s mental state has been deeply impacted by the shooting, pointing to her life expectancy being reduced to just 53 years as a result.
“When you’re deciding what’s fair and what’s fair, you’re not just deciding tomorrow and what might happen the next day,” Biniazan said, according to WTKR. “We don’t get to come back here in five, 10, 15 years and bring you all together and ask Ms. Zwerner, ‘How are you doing? Are you still waking up at nine? Do you still see that face?’”
Last week, Zwerner, who was 25 at the time of the shooting, weighed in on the events’ impact on her emotional and psychological state while on the stand.
ATTORNEY SAYS VIRGINIA SCHOOL MISSED WARNINGS BEFORE 6-YEAR-OLD SHOT TEACHER
“The last thing I remember at the school, I thought I was dying. I thought I had died. I thought I was either on my way to heaven or in heaven,” Zwerner told the court. “Then it all went black. So, then I thought I wasn’t going there.”
In addition to the civil lawsuit, Parker is also facing a criminal trial on eight felony counts of child neglect – one charge for “each of the eight bullets that endangered students” in Zwerner’s classroom, according to prosecutors.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
The child’s mother, Deja Taylor, is currently serving a two-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to child neglect and gun charges.
Neither Zwerner’s nor Parker’s attorney immediately responded to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.
Read the full article here