#Abigail Zwerner

[thescoopess]

6-Year-Old Shocking Boast After Shooting Teacher: ‘I did it ... I shot that b**** dead’

The six-year-old student who shot his teacher ‘Abigail (Abby) Zwerner’ in a Virginia school earlier this year boasted about the shooting saying, “I shot that b**** dead,” unsealed court documents reveal. While restrained after the shooting, the boy admitted, “I did it” adding “I got my mom’s gun last night.” Zwerner was hospitalized for nearly two weeks following the shooting and required…

[filosofablogger]

A Couple Of Snarky Snippets

I went in search of some actual news stories that didn’t have the words “Tucker Carlson” in them, and I found a couple that raised my hackles, to say the least … Someone dropped the ball Yesterday I read a couple of articles about the ‘leaker’ of military secrets, Jack Teixeira.  It seems this young man has been nothing but trouble for quite some time, which leads me to ask a few questions,…

[sethshead]

How, in 2023 America, could school administrators be so blasé about reports that a child might have brought a firearm into school?!

I guess the same way voters are so blasé about mass shootings all over America.

[van-goghs-smoking-skull]

This is NOT saying that disabled people or people with mental illness are inherently bad. We aren’t (yes, I said we, diagnosed ADHD here). But this could have been prevented.

So far, we’ve learned the gun was secured, stored 6ft up and trigger-locked. This is very unlike the initial rumors that the mother left the gun on the table, unattended, and already loaded - this isn’t the usual US ammosexual gets second amendmented story.

The family took precautions, the family also knew the kid had mental illness, and the family made sure the kid was escorted to school and back, not just for the kid’s safety, but for the safety of anyone the kid interacted with.

And this highlights a huge problem in the US, gross underfunding and gatekeeping in mental health treatment. I’m not saying the kid should have been institutionalized - that’s not my call and also probably not the best option anyway.

But as a 24/7 live-in caregiver for an elderly person with her own mental issues? Caregivers are not given NEAR enough support to handle such problems. In the US, it’s usually left up entirely to one, maybe two, family members to be the home caretaker, the person who gives all the rides, manages the schedules, coordinates (and sometimes perform) the medical care.

This is too much work for one or two unsupported people alone, especially if they were not completely trained for all of it. In a country with so many people needing jobs for the pay, and so many people needing help, shouldn’t it just make sense to offer free training and to hire those trained people to assist families in cases like this?

No single tiny bandaid will fix gun violence, but maybe we can work on all the factors. Yes, keeping guns out of the hands of people who shouldn’t have guns (the family did try), but also support for those trying to do the right thing, and proper funding for mental health care, as in maybe universal health care.

[beardedmrbean]

The former assistant principal of a Virginia elementary school where a 6-year-old boy shot and wounded his first-grade teacher last year has been indicted on eight felony counts of child neglect.

A special grand jury found that Ebony Parker showed a "reckless disregard for the human life" of the other students at Richneck Elementary School on Jan. 6, 2023, in Newport News, Virginia, unsealed court documents show.

Each of the charges is punishable by up to five years in prison.

According to authorities, Parker, of Newport News, was working the day the 6-year-old fired a single shot at his teacher, Abigail Zwerner, during a reading class.

Zwerner has filed a $40 million lawsuit alleging that Parker, 39, ignored several warnings that the boy had a gun in school that day. Zwerner was shot in the chest and hand in the shooting but has recovered.

The boy told authorities he got his mother's 9mm handgun by climbing onto a drawer to reach the top of a dresser, where the firearm was in his mom's purse. He concealed the weapon in his backpack and then his pocket before shooting his teacher.

In the lawsuit, Zwerner's lawyers describe a series of warnings that school employees gave administrators in the hours before the shooting, beginning with Zwerner, who went to Parker's office and told her the boy "was in a violent mood," had threatened to beat up a kindergartener and stared down a security officer in the lunchroom, the Associated Press reported. The lawsuit alleges that Parker "had no response, refusing even to look up at (Zwerner) when she expressed her concerns."

The lawsuit also alleges that a reading specialist told Parker that the boy had told students he had a gun. Parker responded that his "pockets were too small to hold a handgun and did nothing," the lawsuit states, according to AP.

The indictments allege that Parker "did commit a willful act or omission in the care of such students, in a manner so gross, wanton and culpable as to show a reckless disregard for human life."

The special grand jury issued the indictments on March 11, and they were unsealed by court order Tuesday. A warrant was issued for Parker's arrest on Tuesday morning, but she's not yet in custody.

Parker, who resigned from her role after the shooting, is the first school official and second person charged in this case.

In December 2023, Deja Taylor, the child's mother, was sentenced to two years in prison for felony child neglect. The state sentence she received from Circuit Court Judge Christopher Papile was stiffer than what is called for in state sentencing guidelines and harsher than a joint sentencing recommendation of six months that prosecutors and Taylor's lawyers had agreed to in a plea deal.

Taylor was also sentenced in November 2023 to 21 months in federal prison for using marijuana while owning a gun, which is illegal under U.S. law. The combination of her state and federal sentences amounts to a total punishment of nearly four years behind bars.

According to Zwerner's lawsuit, the boy's parents did not agree to put him in special education classes where he would be with other students with behavioral issues.

"There were failures in accountability at multiple levels that led to Abby being shot and almost killed. Today's announcement addresses but one of those failures," Zwerner's lawyer said after Taylor was indicted. "It has been three months of investigation and still so many unanswered questions remain. Our lawsuit makes clear that we believe the school division violated state law, and we are pursuing this in civil court. We will not allow school leaders to escape accountability for their role in this tragedy."

The Newport News School Board, former Superintendent George Parker III, former Richneck principal Briana Foster Newton and Parker are named as defendants. The superintendent was fired by the school board. 

Zwerner no longer works for the school system and is no longer teaching.

[ms-hells-bells]

a six year old boy intentionally shot a teacher he didn't like with a handgun in virginia???? initial reports claimed there was an argument, not that that would change anything, but now it has been found that she was just teaching the class, and he randomly pulled it out of his backpack and shot her point blank.

luckily she hasn't died, she is in stable condition but with still life threatening injuries, but holy shit. not much more information out because the shooter is a literal small child, but no one knows what to do, you can't chuck a six year old in prison or juvie, but he shot her on purpose, and afterwards attacked the other adults that tried to restrain him for the police, so zero remorse. likely his parents will face charges, as it was found today that the mother purchased the gun, and so must have had it loaded and accessible in the home for the kid to take it to school.

the teacher was so incredible too, even having been shot in the chest, she got every single one of her students out of the class and safe before she even went to the teachers office to get medical aid while the ambulance was on its way. her name is Abigail Zwerner.

[porterdavis]

“The State is claiming that teachers should have the expectation of being shot by children at work.”

[aurumacadicus]

Hey is it possible to bankrupt a school district? Because I think Abigail Zwerner should get all of their money.

“But tax payer dollars!” Maybe the school district should have used those when she was begging them for help instead of letting a six-year-old try to murder her. But they didn’t. They’re hers now.

I hope she sues the kid’s parents and bankrupts them too.

[follow-up-news]

The former assistant principal of a Virginia elementary school where a 6-year-old student shot his teacher last year has been indicted on child abuse charges, court records show. Ebony Parker faces eight counts related to the day of the shooting, according to the online docket, each of which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. A warrant has been issued for her arrest, the docket shows. Court records filed in Newport News Circuit Court were unsealed Tuesday, about a month after a grand jury filed the charges. NBC News could not immediately obtain a copy of the indictment for details of the charges. The Newport News Commonwealth Attorney's Office did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request for comment. A Newport News Public Schools spokesperson said the district "does not have a statement." It was not immediately known whether Parker had legal representation, and she could not be reached for comment. The shooting of first-grade teacher Abigail Zwerner on Jan. 6, 2023, raised concerns about potential security failures at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News and in a school district rattled by other incidents of gun violence at other campuses.

[dailyunsolvedmysteries]

Six-year-old arrested after shooting teacher in classroom ‘altercation’

A six-year-old boy is in police custody after reportedly shooting a teacher in the stomach and leaving her with life threatening injuries following a classroom altercation.

“This was not an accidental shooting,” said Steve Drew, Police Chief at Newport News, a city in Virginia.

The teacher, 25-year-old Abigail Zwerner, was in a stable condition, following the incident at Richneck Elementary School on Friday. It was unclear how the child obtained the gun.

“It is still a very fluid and active investigation, we are working around the clock,” a police spokesman told the Telegraph.

Under Virginia law, a six-year-old child cannot be charged as an adult despite the gravity of the offence. Even if charged in a juvenile court, the minimum age for juvenile custody is 11.

“The juvenile justice system is not really equipped to deal with really young kids who commit criminal offences and is probably the wrong place to deal with a situation like this,” said Andrew Block, a professor at the University of Virginia School of Law, speaking to the New York Times.

[heymrsamerica]

"I shot that b**** dead," according to newly unsealed redacted search warrants.”

A public school teacher was purposely shot by one of her SIX year old students. It’s being called a “workplace injury,” and that the shooting was a hazard of the job.

….so school shootings are an epidemic?

[amethystpittman]

Read a bit about this. She was shot by a 6-year-old student. Here's the original article linked in the picture:

"The motion was filed last week by attorneys representing the School Board and argues that Zwerner, who was shot in her classroom at Richneck Elementary in January by a 6-year-old student, is only entitled to file a worker’s compensation claim because the injury she sustained from the shooting is a “workplace injury,” and that the shooting was a hazard of the job.

James Graves, the president of the Newport News teachers union, says that argument is “ridiculous.”"

-host

America moment

[antonio-velardo]

Antonio Velardo shares: Teacher Shot by 6-Year-Old Student Can Sue School District, Judge Rules by Amanda Holpuch

By Amanda Holpuch Abigail Zwerner was teaching at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Va., when a boy shot her in January. Published: November 4, 2023 at 01:51PM from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/mbrCtwn via IFTTT

[beardedmrbean]

The city prosecutor in Newport News, Virginia, said Wednesday that he would not seek charges against the 6-year-old boy who shot his elementary school teacher in January but has yet to decide whether any adults associated with the case could be held criminally liable.

In an interview with NBC News, Newport News Commonwealth's Attorney Howard Gwynn said the "prospect that a 6-year-old can stand trial is problematic" given that a child that young wouldn't have the competency to understand the legal system and what a charge means or adequately assist an attorney. It's not unheard of for an adolescent of that age to be arrested in general, and theoretically, a 6-year-old child could be criminally charged under Virginia law.

But Gwynn said that he does not believe there is a legal basis to charge a child and that his office, after receiving the case in February from Newport News police, is focusing on others.

"Our objective is not just to do something as quickly as possible," Gwynn said. "Once we analyze all the facts, we will charge any person or persons that we believe we can prove beyond a reasonable doubt committed a crime."

The shooting on Jan. 6 at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News has led to a potential lawsuit expected to be filed on behalf of the teacher, Abigail Zwerner, the ouster of the school's superintendent and an assistant principal, and the installation of metal detectors.

According to a lawyer for Zwerner, a first-grade teacher, the boy had behavioral issues and a pattern of troubling interactions with school staff and other students. A notice of intent to sue said the boy was given a one-day suspension for breaking Zwerner's cellphone, and returned the next day with a 9mm handgun that he used to shoot his teacher in the classroom while she sat at a reading table.

Diane Toscano, Zwerner's lawyer, said at a news conference in January that three teachers went to the school administration about the boy's behavior and that he was believed to have had a gun on campus.

Toscano said the shooting was "entirely preventable" if the administration "had taken action when they had knowledge of imminent danger," adding, "But instead, they failed to act, and Abby was shot."

Zwerner, 25, was seriously wounded in a hand and her chest, but police said she still managed to safely escort about 20 students out of her classroom. She was hospitalized for nearly two weeks.

Newport News Police Chief Steve Drew has described the shooting as intentional. In a Facebook Live video last month in which he said prosecutors would begin reviewing the case, Drew told viewers that it took time for detectives to interview children and examine forensic evidence.

"This is a lot more than just someone bringing a gun to school and that gun was found," he said.

In the wake of the shooting, the family of the 6-year-old boy said in a statement that the weapon was "secured" in the home and that they have "always been committed to responsible gun ownership and keeping firearms out of the reach of children."

The family also said the boy has an acute disability and was receiving the "treatment he needs" under a court-ordered temporary detention at a medical facility.

Police said the child's mother legally purchased the gun he used, but haven't specified how he obtained it or if it was safely secured as the family has claimed.

Both a lawyer for the boy's family and the law firm representing Zwerner declined to comment Wednesday about the prosecutor's ongoing investigation and his decision not to seek charges against the child.

A spokeswoman for the Newport News School District said it had no additional comments about the investigation, and the district has previously said it couldn't share any information in the child’s educational record, citing the police investigation.

Gwynn told The Associated Press last month that his office had received three binders of information from police in the case. His team is also reviewing police bodycam footage of officers who responded to the scene.

Legal experts had previously said the child is unlikely to face charges because of competency concerns, although his parents could be charged with reckless endangerment or child neglect.

Gwynn said that if there is a decision to charge someone in connection with the case, it would either be through a grand jury or in consultation with police.

While there is no timeline for when charges might be brought, Gwynn drew a distinction with a parallel incident in Norfolk, Virginia, last month in which charges were quickly filed against a mother whose 6-year-old brought a gun to an elementary school. In that case, no one was injured and police charged the mother with contributing to the delinquency of a minor and allowing a child access to a loaded firearm.

"In our case, the police decided to turn the file over to us to make a decision," Gwynn said. "And we have to make our decision based on our ability to prove beyond a reasonable doubt a crime occurred."