A former Virginia school administrator is facing a $40 million lawsuit after allegedly ignoring multiple warnings that a six-year-old student had brought a gun to the classroom just hours before shooting his teacher, Abby Zwerner. According to attorney Diane Toscano's opening statements, Ebony Parker failed to act on warnings from four different people who reported concerns about the student carrying a firearm.
On January 2023, Zwerner was shot in the hand and chest while teaching first-grade at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News. The shooting sparked widespread shock and outrage, particularly given that the child was just six years old. Tozwerner spent nearly two weeks in the hospital, underwent multiple surgeries, and now suffers from limited use of her left hand due to a bullet still lodged in her chest.
The lawsuit accuses Parker of making "bad decisions and choices" on January 2023, including failing to search the student or remove him from the classroom. According to Toscano, Parker had the authority to take action but chose not to. The shooting occurred just days after the student returned from a suspension for slamming Zwerner's phone.
Parker's defense team, led by attorney Daniel Hogan, maintains that no one could have predicted that a six-year-old child would bring a firearm to school and that decision-making in public schools is "cooperative" and "collaborative." Hogan warned jurors against hindsight bias and "Monday morning quarterbacking," arguing that the law requires them to examine Parker's decisions at the time they made them, rather than judging her after the fact.
The case has significant implications for how school administrators handle reports of student safety concerns. With one defendant facing a $40 million civil lawsuit and another defendant already facing separate felony child neglect charges, this case highlights the need for proactive measures to ensure student safety in public schools.
On January 2023, Zwerner was shot in the hand and chest while teaching first-grade at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News. The shooting sparked widespread shock and outrage, particularly given that the child was just six years old. Tozwerner spent nearly two weeks in the hospital, underwent multiple surgeries, and now suffers from limited use of her left hand due to a bullet still lodged in her chest.
The lawsuit accuses Parker of making "bad decisions and choices" on January 2023, including failing to search the student or remove him from the classroom. According to Toscano, Parker had the authority to take action but chose not to. The shooting occurred just days after the student returned from a suspension for slamming Zwerner's phone.
Parker's defense team, led by attorney Daniel Hogan, maintains that no one could have predicted that a six-year-old child would bring a firearm to school and that decision-making in public schools is "cooperative" and "collaborative." Hogan warned jurors against hindsight bias and "Monday morning quarterbacking," arguing that the law requires them to examine Parker's decisions at the time they made them, rather than judging her after the fact.
The case has significant implications for how school administrators handle reports of student safety concerns. With one defendant facing a $40 million civil lawsuit and another defendant already facing separate felony child neglect charges, this case highlights the need for proactive measures to ensure student safety in public schools.
This is just insane. 40 million dollars?! The kid's parents are probably livin' large by now 
. What was Ebony Parker even thinkin'? Search the kid and take him outta class? No brainer, right? 
The defense team is gonna try to spin this as "cooperative" decision makin', but we all know that's just a fancy way of sayin' "she messed up big time". 
... I mean, how can someone ignore multiple warnings about a kid carrying a gun to school? 
It's like they were playing a game of "let's see who can turn a blind eye" and nobody got hurt until it was too late 
. And now, Ebony Parker is facing a $40 million lawsuit... that's a whole lotta $$ 
. I don't know what's more concerning - the fact that a six-year-old kid brought a gun to school or that someone in charge let it happen 
. The way this case is unfolding seems like a ticking time bomb for school safety, and we need some serious changes ASAP 
. Can we please get some proactive measures put in place to ensure our kids are safe while learning? 
it's just heartbreaking thinking about what that little kid went through... like, six years old? how can we even expect schools to prevent something like that from happening again? 
i mean, sure, we want to protect our children's rights and stuff, but at the same time, safety should be our top priority. it's just so frustrating when you think about all those warning signs being ignored... Ebony Parker's "bad decisions" sound super irresponsible to me 
.
, how can one little kid have access to a gun? 
. And now her student shoots a teacher and she gets sued for 40 million dollars? Like, doesn't that sound like a huge problem to you? 
. And another thing, what kind of school doesn't have metal detectors or any other safety measures in place? 
. And the fact that Abby Zwerner was shot in the hand and chest while teaching first grade 
.
.
. And the fact that the admin didn't do anything about it, despite multiple warnings... it's like, what were they even thinking? 
. But at the same time, I feel for the teachers and staff who have to deal with these situations all the time 
.
$40 million is way too much! I think Parker's defense team is trying to shift the blame but honestly, who doesn't know that a 6yo with a history of disrupting class shouldn't be allowed with a gun?! 
schools need to be held accountable for their own failures in keeping students safe.
In that year alone, there were over 2,500 children under 18 who died from gunshot wounds. 
Did you know? According to the CDC, states with stricter gun laws have lower rates of childhood gun deaths. But our country is all about 'Gun Rights', not necessarily 'Gun Safety' 