NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (Court TV) — The former teacher who was shot in her first-grade classroom by an armed 6-year-old described the shooting and its aftermath in emotional detail as part of her civil lawsuit against a former school administrator.
Plaintiff Abby Zwerner takes the stand and recalls the moments after being shot saying, ‘I thought I was dying, I thought I had died.’ Zwerner was seriously injured when a 6-year-old child at Richneck Elementary School pulled out a gun and shot her. (Court TV)
Abby Zwerner was shot in her classroom at Richneck Elementary School on Jan. 6, 2023. A single bullet went through her hand and into her chest, causing significant injuries and permanent damage to her body. Zwerner filed a $40 million lawsuit against Richneck’s former assistant principal, Ebony Parker, whom she blames for not intervening to stop the shooting.
Zwerner took the stand on Thursday to detail the events of Jan. 6, beginning with when she first heard that the student, identified in court as “J.T.,” had a gun. Zwerner said that before recess, lead first-grade teacher Amy Kovac raised the alarm and said she was reporting the incident to Parker.
MORE | Abby Zwerner v. Ebony Parker: 1st Grader Shoots Teacher Civil Trial
Zwerner said there are gaps in her memory from the day of the shooting; after speaking to Kovac, the next thing she remembers is thinking she had died.
“I thought I was dying. I thought I had died, 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,” Zwerner said. “My next memory is I see two coworkers around me and I process that I’m hurt and they’re putting pressure on where I’m hurt.”
More than two years after she was shot, Zwerner said there are lasting and permanent effects from the shooting. She said she can’t do some simple tasks, such as opening bags of potato chips, and struggles to maintain close relationships. “I still feel connected and close, but it’s also that feeling of distance, a little numbness, and it’s like I know I trust the person I’m with, I love them — I know them, but there’s something that’s just different.”
Under cross-examination, Zwerner conceded that she had been seeing a therapist for depression and anxiety before the shooting, and that there had been previous issues in the classroom with “J.T.” Parker’s attorney emphasized Zwerner’s decision to attend concerts and cosmetology school to contrast her testimony that she is unable to leave the house and return to a normal life.
