Teacher Shot by 6-Year-Old Student Files $40 Million Lawsuit

A first-grade Virginia teacher who was shot and seriously wounded by her 6-year-old student is filing a lawsuit Monday seeking $40 million in damages from school officials, accusing them of gross negligence for allegedly ignoring multiple warnings on the day of the shooting that the boy had a gun and was in a “violent mood.”

Abby Zwerner, a 25-year-old teacher at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia was shot in the hand and chest on Jan. 6 as she sat at a reading table in her classroom. She spent nearly two weeks in the hospital and has had four surgeries since the shooting.

The shooting sent shock waves around the country, with many wondering how a child so young could get access to a gun and shoot his teacher.

Teacher Shot by 6-Year-Old Student Files $40 Million Lawsuit

It's absolute madness that a 6-year old could get access to a gun which he took with him at School and shot his teacher who fortunately didn't die on this occasion. Surreal but true. In this absolute madness reality very fortunately nobody else was injured or killed as this could have been much worse with several injured or dead teachers and students.

So the question is straight forward, and given the recent shooting incidents in addition to the history of shootings in Schools & Universities and elsewhere.

Should there be heavy restrictions on firearms access so to avoid further incidents and to avoid the loss of life and the killing of innocent people. Even if a shooting incident doesn't result in deaths it can still heavily harm those who are injured and change their lives forever.

Only a few days ago a former student of a private Christian School, Audrey Hale, who was 28 years old at time of the attack, walked into the School and killed 6 people, 3 children and 3 teachers. Just like that! Before she was killed by the cops who arrived at the scene after the shootings took place.

The number of people who possess firearms could be as high as 40% or even higher than that depending on the source you want to use. But common sense says it is much higher than what official sources say it is. The second amendment to the constitution gives the right to the citizens to bear guns. So it's not a question about whether one has the right to bear guns.

a reply to: Asmodeus3

Somebody has taught that 6 year old how to use that gun, just the fact that a 6 year could access a gun is bad enough but they also knew how to use. You don’t just pick it up from films or whatever not at 6!

I would be going after whoever that person was. Either that or MKUltra is behind it.

originally posted by: surfer_soul
a reply to: Asmodeus3

Somebody has taught that 6 year old how to use that gun, just the fact that a 6 year could access a gun is bad enough but they also knew how to use. You don’t just pick it up from films or whatever not at 6!

I would be going after whoever that person was. Either that or MKUltra is behind it.

you are correct. but there is no use suing the parents of the kid. the teacher would likely only be able to get a few thousand dollars if they were lucky, unless by some miracle, the kids family is rich.

the school on the other hand does share fault, since not only the things mentioned, but especially that the kid was even able to bring the gun INTO school in the first place, makes it their fault. i wonder how many other dangerous weapons are being carried around in that school? and that is actually a serious question, and not just a snarky comment. i know where i am school violence has become a very serious problem. especially shootings, which is rather odd, since we have had rather strict gun control for decades. in fact hand guns are even completely illegal for anyone to have unless it is one they owned before the law changed, and it was hard to legally own a handgun, again, for decades before that law change. yet still tons of illegal handguns everywhere somehow. which just goes to show gun control does nothing but to take guns away from legal and responsible gun owners.

we even had a school, both students and teachers go on strike calling for something, anything be done to stop the violence,just as long as it did not involve police or courts in any way, shape or form, especially in the way of police being at all on school property, or arresting anyone of course. just a couple weeks back i noticed a kid waiting for someone at my building playing with a butterfly knife (illegal, prohibited weapon), right by the street. so i told him he should go do it in the back away from the street, so he wouldn't get caught. turns out it was a non sharp practice blade, which is probably legal. but it got us talking about the violence going on. and he mentioned that most kids he knows are going to school armed, with knives and other weapons, including, illegal handguns, to protect themselves, since no one else will. (seriously how do you stop violent armed criminals, without the police, arrests and jail?). so basically schools are becoming armed camps. and when lots of idiot and often volatile teens, especially scared teens, are carrying around weapons, what do you think the result is?

so no, Asmodeus3 it is quite obvious that even harsh gun control like we have does nothing to stop these killings at all. only looking for the root causes, and the dealing with those causes appropriately, is the ONLY WAY to if to not stop it, at least stop much of it from happening. and the only way to do that, is to stop blaming one of many tools that they can use to do their killing, and instead deal with the actual reasons those shootings and killings happen in the first place. and until that happens, things are only going to get far worse.

$40 million should fix the problem….I guess. $60 million would have REALLY fixed it.

a reply to: Asmodeus3

a... five year old child... overpowered and "strangled and choked" a kindergarten teacher

Gwynn has yet to decide if any adults will be charged. The boy used his mother’s gun, which police said was purchased legally. An attorney for the boy’s family has said that the firearm was secured on a closet shelf and had a lock on it.

This glows like ATS on a nice day.

originally posted by: generik

originally posted by: surfer_soul
a reply to: Asmodeus3

Somebody has taught that 6 year old how to use that gun, just the fact that a 6 year could access a gun is bad enough but they also knew how to use. You don’t just pick it up from films or whatever not at 6!

I would be going after whoever that person was. Either that or MKUltra is behind it.

you are correct. but there is no use suing the parents of the kid. the teacher would likely only be able to get a few thousand dollars if they were lucky, unless by some miracle, the kids family is rich.

the school on the other hand does share fault, since not only the things mentioned, but especially that the kid was even able to bring the gun INTO school in the first place, makes it their fault. i wonder how many other dangerous weapons are being carried around in that school? and that is actually a serious question, and not just a snarky comment. i know where i am school violence has become a very serious problem. especially shootings, which is rather odd, since we have had rather strict gun control for decades. in fact hand guns are even completely illegal for anyone to have unless it is one they owned before the law changed, and it was hard to legally own a handgun, again, for decades before that law change. yet still tons of illegal handguns everywhere somehow. which just goes to show gun control does nothing but to take guns away from legal and responsible gun owners.

we even had a school, both students and teachers go on strike calling for something, anything be done to stop the violence,just as long as it did not involve police or courts in any way, shape or form, especially in the way of police being at all on school property, or arresting anyone of course. just a couple weeks back i noticed a kid waiting for someone at my building playing with a butterfly knife (illegal, prohibited weapon), right by the street. so i told him he should go do it in the back away from the street, so he wouldn't get caught. turns out it was a non sharp practice blade, which is probably legal. but it got us talking about the violence going on. and he mentioned that most kids he knows are going to school armed, with knives and other weapons, including, illegal handguns, to protect themselves, since no one else will. (seriously how do you stop violent armed criminals, without the police, arrests and jail?). so basically schools are becoming armed camps. and when lots of idiot and often volatile teens, especially scared teens, are carrying around weapons, what do you think the result is?

so no, Asmodeus3 it is quite obvious that even harsh gun control like we have does nothing to stop these killings at all. only looking for the root causes, and the dealing with those causes appropriately, is the ONLY WAY to if to not stop it, at least stop much of it from happening. and the only way to do that, is to stop blaming one of many tools that they can use to do their killing, and instead deal with the actual reasons those shootings and killings happen in the first place. and until that happens, things are only going to get far worse.

I am afraid the harsh gun control doesn't really exist. Why similar incidents don't happen in Denmark let's say or Finland? And when they do happen they are very rare. Because ordinary people can't have access to guns and because it is illegal to possess them.

originally posted by: wdkirk
$40 million should fix the problem….I guess. $60 million would have REALLY fixed it.

The issue isn't the amount of compensation although I find no issue with the compensation asked.

Na reply to: Asmodeus3


True but America is a big very big country and also very dangerous country to live in and actually to walk the streets after well anymore anytime so yes a gun is man's best protection against violent criminals that are allowed currently allowed to roam the streets so I'm in favor of having a gun in my possession at all times I don't see nothing wrong with it at all because of criminal doesn't seem to be thinking is wrong to use violence with the with the weapons against innocent victims.

originally posted by: surfer_soul
a reply to: Asmodeus3

Somebody has taught that 6 year old how to use that gun, just the fact that a 6 year could access a gun is bad enough but they also knew how to use. You don’t just pick it up from films or whatever not at 6!

I would be going after whoever that person was. Either that or MKUltra is behind it.

Yep! The problem is access to guns and training when these guns are possessed. Spot on!

originally posted by: musicismagic
Na reply to: Asmodeus3


True but America is a big very big country and also very dangerous country to live in and actually to walk the streets after well anymore anytime so yes a gun is man's best protection against violent criminals that are allowed currently allowed to roam the streets so I'm in favor of having a gun in my possession at all times I don't see nothing wrong with it at all because of criminal doesn't seem to be thinking is wrong to use violence with the with the weapons against innocent victims.

Yes I know that well. I even said this is not a conversation about the right of citizens to bear guns referring to the second amendment of the constitution. My point is about access and lack of any proper control.

People outside the US forget completely how vast and often dangerous some places are and that you bed to have some sort of meaningful protection.

originally posted by: Asmodeus3

originally posted by: musicismagic
Na reply to: Asmodeus3

My point is about access and lack of any proper control.

That is the biggest issue with this. Most notably recently are all of the first time gun owners that started buying when SHTF in 20 with the plandemic. They had never owned a gun, shot a gun or even held one for that matter and they went out in fear of being looted or whatnot and got the first gun they saw. They then took it home, threw it in their sock drawer or on the "top shelf of the closet" and forgot about it. Never trained with it, shot it for practice, or probably even cleaned the dang thing. But I'll back on topic here. I would wager a large sum of money that 99.99999% of those people have never had any sort of formal, or informal, firearm safety teachings so they don't know any better. The biggest issue is not knowing the right way to do things. Anybody I have ever know to own a firearm, has always kept them in a locked place far away from where anyone who shouldn't even know they were there.

a reply to: Asmodeus3

I had easy access to guns at 6 years old and never shot up the school. The problem is this case is the kid .

originally posted by: tamusan
a reply to: Asmodeus3

I had easy access to guns at 6 years old and never shot up the school. The problem is this case is the kid .

I think it's much more than just having access to a gun but the main issue is having access in the first place and know how to use it!

a reply to: Asmodeus3

Something is wrong with the kid, and not just him, but way too many kids. I grew up in the 70s and 80s, and society has changed in so many ways since then, and not really for the better. It's easy to just blame the parents, and maybe they did mess him up a little, but the world we live in is doing a lot of messing up the kids on its own. The parents said the gun was kept in a locked "secret" safe. I'm assuming the kid found the piece of paper that the dad kept all of his codes on.

a reply to: surfer_soul

i absolutely knew how to use a gun at around 6 or 7,i grew up with anti gun parents too but on a trip to grandmas house in az while they were out in the yard doing gardening or something i managed to find one of grandpas fire arms, luckily for me i wasn't an idiot and the first thing i did was unload the revolver(dinky .22) then proceed to take it apart and put it back together while avoiding the trigger .mom absolutely was having kittens about it but its not exactly rocket science to know how fire arms work even when not formally taught,i did get a kick out of (and so did my dad) when the first thing mom did was grab it quickly and depress the trigger on accident good thing id unloaded it huh?

safe storage is kind of key though, more so these days and while 40 million is a pretty large number for any school district to have to pay out if they did ignore complaints they in theory are liable doubt they will pay out that much though and that will probally just nuke the funding for said district

edit to add from ops source

School officials removed the boy from Richneck and sent him to another school for the remainder of the year, but allowed him to return to Richneck for first grade in the fall of 2022, the lawsuit states. He was placed on a modified schedule “because he was chasing students around the playground with a belt in an effort to whip them with it," and was cursing staff and teachers, it says. Under the modified schedule, one of the boy's parents was required to accompany him during the school day.

seems like far from your "normal " 6year old behavior it goes on to say that his parents declined to put him in special ed as well

originally posted by: tamusan
a reply to: Asmodeus3

I had easy access to guns at 6 years old and never shot up the school. The problem is this case is the kid .

No, the problem is how the kid was raised. This is definitely on the Parents.

originally posted by: tanstaafl

originally posted by: tamusan
a reply to: Asmodeus3

I had easy access to guns at 6 years old and never shot up the school. The problem is this case is the kid .

No, the problem is how the kid was raised. This is definitely on the Parents.

What about having access to guns and being able to carry the guns in School. Ye the boy was raised the wrong way, there is no doubt about it.

originally posted by: Asmodeus3
a reply to: tanstaafl
What about having access to guns

He is 6 years old. That is on the parents.

and being able to carry the guns in School.

Sure, the school could be held liable for that, especially if it is true that there was some kind of advanced warning that he might be trouble...

Ye the boy was raised the wrong way, there is no doubt about it.

And that is the problem... ultimately.

a reply to: tanstaafl

I'm not quick to completely blame the parents on this one. American society in general has rapidly declined and just about everyone is mentally ill these days, especially the kids.

originally posted by: tamusan
a reply to: tanstaafl

I'm not quick to completely blame the parents on this one. American society in general has rapidly declined and just about everyone is mentally ill these days, especially the kids.

He is 6. This is 100% on the parents.