According to a court document, the 6-year-old Virginia child who shot his first-grade teacher had a history of mistreating others at school and had once strangled another teacher “until she couldn’t breathe.”
The Newport News school system was informed about the prior alleged incident via a notice of claim informing them that Abby Zwerner, the teacher who had been shot and injured, wanted to file a lawsuit.
The second teacher who claimed to have been choked likewise corroborated the alleged incident in 2021, claiming that she reported it to school authorities at the time but did not get the help she had hoped for.
She told the Associated Press that the youngster approached her from behind as she sat in the front of the class, locked his forearms in front of her neck, and then pulled her back and down firmly.
She spoke on the condition of anonymity out of concern about possible punishment from the school system and said that a teaching assistant was required to remove the little child.
The remainder of the year, she added, “I didn’t feel secure because I felt that if they didn’t protect me when he choked me and I couldn’t breathe, they wouldn’t protect me, my kids, or my coworkers if he did something not as damaging.”
Due to his young age, the youngster was eventually transferred to a different class at a different school.
But, according to the notice sent by Zwerner’s attorney, Diane Toscano, it was just a small portion of his worrisome conduct, which also included often yelling at staff members and instructors and attempting to belt-whip pupils.
The youngster had an argument with Zwerner two days before to the Richneck Elementary School shooting, during which he “slammed” down her smartphone and destroyed it, according to the court documents.
He was granted a one-day detention, but when he returned to class the next day, he shot Zwerner as she was seated at a reading table, according to the notice.
In the notification, Toscano said that it was “a marvel that more individuals were not hurt.”
While several first-graders played, the gunman “spent his whole recess with a pistol in his pocket, a gun that was loaded and ready to fire.”
With a comprehensive history of how Zwerner, three other instructors, and a guidance counselor voiced worries about the child carrying a pistol, the legal notice expanded on prior charges of incompetence at Richneck.
According to the report, the killing of Ms. Zwerner would not have occurred if then-Assistant Principal Ebony Parker “had acted on the information she was presented.”
According to the lawsuit, Zwerner visited Parker’s workplace at about 11:15 a.m. “to inform her that the shooter appeared more ‘off’ than normal and was in a violent attitude.”
The youngster allegedly threatened to hit a kindergarten student and “angrily glared down” the school security guard in the lunchroom, according to the report.
The child had informed pupils that he had a pistol in his bag about 11:45 a.m., according to the notification. At about 2:30 p.m., the instructor inspected the rucksack but discovered no firearms.
According to the notice, the same instructor “was informed that the shooter had taken something out of his bag just before she checked the shooter’s backpack, and the shooter placed it in the pocket of his hoodie before heading out to recess.”
According to the notice of claim, when that instructor expressed concerns to Parker, the assistant administrator said that the kid “had little pockets, implying that he could not possible carry a pistol on his person.”
The note said, “Assistant Principal Parker ought to have phoned police.” “Instead, she disregarded established procedure and decided to take no action.”
The notification added that shortly after 1 p.m., a third teacher heard from a pupil in Zwerner’s class that the shooter had threatened to shoot the pupil if he informed anybody about seeing the pistol during recess.
According to the notice, the instructor called the school’s administration and told the fourth teacher who picked up the phone what she knew.
Parker was informed of the threat and that the student’s bag had been examined by the fourth teacher, who then sent the information to her.
Once again, the third and fourth instructors spoke. The notification added that the fourth teacher then went back to Parker’s office where a guidance counselor had voiced similar worries over the kid carrying a gun.
Parker declined the guidance counselor’s request to check the youngster for a weapon since the boy’s mother was on her way to pick him up, according to the notice.
The notification said that Ms. Zwerner received shots in her left hand and upper chest from the gunman 45 minutes later.
When the gunman, who was seated at his desk, drew the revolver out of his pocket and shot Ms. Zwerner once, she was at her reading desk.
Police said that the youngster was brought to a hospital after the incident and is now getting unspecified treatment there.
It is common procedure for the school division to transmit notifications of intent to suit to its insurer, which manages such litigation, according to Len Wallin, director of legal services for the school system.
Parker, who quit last month, will be decided upon by the district’s insurer “after consultation with the school board, if that is required,” according to Wallin.
According to a court document, the 6-year-old Virginia child who shot his first-grade teacher had a history of mistreating others at school and had once strangled another teacher “until she couldn’t breathe.”
The Newport News school system was informed about the prior alleged incident via a notice of claim informing them that Abby Zwerner, the teacher who had been shot and injured, wanted to file a lawsuit.
The second teacher who claimed to have been choked likewise corroborated the alleged incident in 2021, claiming that she reported it to school authorities at the time but did not get the help she had hoped for.
She told the Associated Press that the youngster approached her from behind as she sat in the front of the class, locked his forearms in front of her neck, and then pulled her back and down firmly.
She spoke on the condition of anonymity out of concern about possible punishment from the school system and said that a teaching assistant was required to remove the little child.
The remainder of the year, she added, “I didn’t feel secure because I felt that if they didn’t protect me when he choked me and I couldn’t breathe, they wouldn’t protect me, my kids, or my coworkers if he did something not as damaging.”
Due to his young age, the youngster was eventually transferred to a different class at a different school.
But, according to the notice sent by Zwerner’s attorney, Diane Toscano, it was just a small portion of his worrisome conduct, which also included often yelling at staff members and instructors and attempting to belt-whip pupils.
The youngster had an argument with Zwerner two days before to the Richneck Elementary School shooting, during which he “slammed” down her smartphone and destroyed it, according to the court documents.
He was granted a one-day detention, but when he returned to class the next day, he shot Zwerner as she was seated at a reading table, according to the notice.
In the notification, Toscano said that it was “a marvel that more individuals were not hurt.”
While several first-graders played, the gunman “spent his whole recess with a pistol in his pocket, a gun that was loaded and ready to fire.”
With a comprehensive history of how Zwerner, three other instructors, and a guidance counselor voiced worries about the child carrying a pistol, the legal notice expanded on prior charges of incompetence at Richneck.
According to the report, the killing of Ms. Zwerner would not have occurred if then-Assistant Principal Ebony Parker “had acted on the information she was presented.”
According to the lawsuit, Zwerner visited Parker’s workplace at about 11:15 a.m. “to inform her that the shooter appeared more ‘off’ than normal and was in a violent attitude.”
The youngster allegedly threatened to hit a kindergarten student and “angrily glared down” the school security guard in the lunchroom, according to the report.
The child had informed pupils that he had a pistol in his bag about 11:45 a.m., according to the notification. At about 2:30 p.m., the instructor inspected the rucksack but discovered no firearms.
According to the notice, the same instructor “was informed that the shooter had taken something out of his bag just before she checked the shooter’s backpack, and the shooter placed it in the pocket of his hoodie before heading out to recess.”
According to the notice of claim, when that instructor expressed concerns to Parker, the assistant administrator said that the kid “had little pockets, implying that he could not possible carry a pistol on his person.”
The note said, “Assistant Principal Parker ought to have phoned police.” “Instead, she disregarded established procedure and decided to take no action.”
The notification added that shortly after 1 p.m., a third teacher heard from a pupil in Zwerner’s class that the shooter had threatened to shoot the pupil if he informed anybody about seeing the pistol during recess.
According to the notice, the instructor called the school’s administration and told the fourth teacher who picked up the phone what she knew.
Parker was informed of the threat and that the student’s bag had been examined by the fourth teacher, who then sent the information to her.
Once again, the third and fourth instructors spoke. The notification added that the fourth teacher then went back to Parker’s office where a guidance counselor had voiced similar worries over the kid carrying a gun.
Parker declined the guidance counselor’s request to check the youngster for a weapon since the boy’s mother was on her way to pick him up, according to the notice.
The notification said that Ms. Zwerner received shots in her left hand and upper chest from the gunman 45 minutes later.
When the gunman, who was seated at his desk, drew the revolver out of his pocket and shot Ms. Zwerner once, she was at her reading desk.
Police said that the youngster was brought to a hospital after the incident and is now getting unspecified treatment there.
It is common procedure for the school division to transmit notifications of intent to suit to its insurer, which manages such litigation, according to Len Wallin, director of legal services for the school system.
Parker, who quit last month, will be decided upon by the district’s insurer “after consultation with the school board, if that is required,” according to Wallin.
»6-year-old kills teacher, Abby Zwerner«