The Virginia teacher who was shot by a 6-year-old student is suing the school for $40 million, claiming that administrators ignored several warning signs ahead of time.
The lawsuit claims that school officials received multiple warnings the student had a gun, and ignored them despite the child having a "history of random violence."
The victim, 25-year-old Abigail Zwerner, was shot in the hand and chest and suffers "physical pain and mental anguish," her lawyers said. She spent two weeks in the hospital and has undergone four surgeries, the Associated Press reported.
Zwerner previously filed a notice of intent to sue the Newport News School District due to administrators ignoring numerous threats received before the shooting on January 6, which happened at Richneck Elementary School. Attorneys say administrators were "paralyzed by apathy" and did nothing.
"On that day, over the course of a few hours, three different times — three times — school administration was warned by concerned teachers and employees that the boy had a gun on him at the school and was threatening people. But the administration could not be bothered," Attorney Diane Toscano said at a news conference in January.
That morning, the boy threatened to beat up another child and Zwerner went to the administrator, but no action was taken.
A different teacher reported to the administrators that she had examined the boy's backpack after learning he had a gun, although she could not find any weapon.
"The administrator downplayed the report from the teacher and the possibility of a gun, saying — and I quote — 'Well, he has little pockets,'" Toscano said.
Administrators were also informed by another instructor that the boy had threatened to shoot a different child if he told that he saw the gun, but again, no action was taken.
Toscano said a fourth employee who heard the boy might be armed asked administrators for permission to search the 6 year-old but "was told to wait the situation out because the school day was almost over." An hour later, Zwerner was shot.
The complaint names several defendants, including the Newport News School Board, former Assistant Principal Ebony Parker (who resigned after the shooting), former Principal Briana Foster Newton (who transferred to a different role after the shooting), and former Superintendent George Parker III (who was fired after the shooting), per NBC News.
The lawsuit includes new details about the boy, who apparently had a history of incidents at the school -- including strangling and choking a teacher, and chasing classmates with a belt while threatening to whip them, according to NBC.
The complaint also notes that the boy was suspended the day before the shooting for taking Zwerner's phone, slamming it to the ground and shattering the device, NBC reported.
Police have repeatedly said the shooting was "intentional." There was no fight or physical struggle before the boy allegedly opened fire in his first grade classroom as Zwerner was providing instruction, police said.
Police confirmed that the boy took the 9mm gun from his home and brought it to school in his backpack. The boy's mother legally purchased the weapon, although authorities haven't disclosed how the child got access to the gun.
The family's attorney, James Ellenson, told the AP that the gun was in the mother's closet on a shelf over 6-feet high and had a trigger lock that required a key. The family also said that the boy has an "acute disability" and was usually accompanied in class by his mother or father every day. The week of the shooting was the first when a parent was not in class with him, according to reports.
In March, prosecutors said they would not pursue criminal charges against the boy, saying he wouldn't understand the legal system. It's not clear if the boy's parents will face charges.
Though Virginia has no law that requires unattended guns to be stored or locked in a particular way, gun owners can be prosecuted under a state law that prohibits anyone from recklessly leaving a loaded, unsecured gun in a manner that endangers the life or limb of children under 14, the AP reported. The misdemeanor is punishable by a maximum jail sentence of one year and a maximum fine of $2,500.
The district has denied comment on the incident, citing the school's ongoing investigation. It has not commented on the lawsuit.
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