Abby Zwerner, a first-grade teacher at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia, sued former assistant principal Ebony Parker for gross negligence after a 6-year-old student shot her during class on Jan. 6, 2023 [1]. Zwerner alleged that Parker received at least four warnings from school staff on the day of the shooting that the student was in possession of a firearm, and that Parker failed to search the child, contact law enforcement, or take any other precautionary action before Zwerner was struck [1]. The case proceeded to trial in Newport News Circuit Court on a single gross negligence claim, targeting Parker in her individual capacity rather than the school district [1].
At trial, Zwerner's legal team, led by Diane Toscano of Toscano Law Group and Jeffrey Breit and Kevin Biniazan of Breit Biniazan, presented evidence that Parker was warned repeatedly by colleagues who had direct knowledge that the student had brought a gun to school that morning [1][2]. Parker did not conduct a search of the student or his belongings despite those warnings, and Zwerner was shot in her hand and chest during class [1]. The jury returned a verdict in Zwerner's favor on Jan. 1, 2025, finding that Parker's conduct met the standard of gross negligence under Virginia law [1][2].
The jury awarded $10 million in compensatory damages, with no punitive component reported [1]. The verdict holds Parker personally liable, a result that drew attention as an application of individual administrator liability in a school-safety context [1].
No post-trial motions or appeal filings are reflected in the available source material as of the verdict date. Parker's counsel of record was not identified in the discovery sources. Any challenge to the award on remittitur or constitutional grounds would proceed in Newport News Circuit Court before moving to the Virginia Court of Appeals.