A Virginia teacher who was shot by her 6-year-old student inside a first-grade classroom has won a $10 million settlement, marking a historic victory in a case that shocked the nation and exposed alarming failures in school safety protocols. The case, which drew international attention, centered around claims that administrators ignored multiple warnings that the child was armed and dangerous on the day of the shooting.
Abby Zwerner, 26, was leading a reading lesson at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News when the child pulled out a handgun and fired a single shot, striking her through the hand and into her chest. Despite her injuries, Zwerner managed to escort the other children to safety before collapsing. “She saved those kids,” a responding officer told The Washington Post. “She’s a hero in every sense of the word.”
The bullet missed her heart by less than an inch. Zwerner spent weeks in the hospital undergoing multiple surgeries and months in recovery. Her lawsuit accused the school district of gross negligence, claiming that several staff members knew the child had brought a gun to school — yet failed to act.
“Teachers begged for help before Abby was shot. They were ignored.” — fellow educator @CNN
According to court documents, three separate teachers alerted administrators that the boy might be carrying a weapon that morning. One even searched his backpack but found nothing. Hours later, during class, the child pulled a 9mm pistol from his pocket and fired at Zwerner in front of nearly two dozen students.
Investigators later confirmed the firearm belonged to the boy’s mother, who had legally purchased it. The family’s lawyer claimed the weapon had been “secured,” but prosecutors argued it had been left accessible to the child. The mother, Deja Taylor, pleaded guilty last year to child neglect and was sentenced to two years in prison.
In the civil case, Zwerner’s attorneys accused the Newport News school board of “willful indifference” to student and staff safety. “This was not an accident,” attorney Diane Toscano told reporters. “This was preventable. Every warning sign was ignored until a gun went off in a classroom.”
The $10 million payout, approved this week, is one of the largest school-related settlements in U.S. history. “No amount of money can undo what happened,” Zwerner said in a statement. “But this is a step toward accountability — not just for me, but for every teacher who has ever feared for their life at work.”
“She was shot by a 6-year-old and still protected her students — and now, she’s fighting for change.” @ABC
Since the shooting, the case has raised difficult questions about how far the country has fallen when even first-grade classrooms are not immune to gun violence. Advocacy groups like Sandy Hook Promise have called Zwerner’s ordeal “a symptom of a national sickness” and renewed demands for gun safety legislation targeting firearm access in homes with children.
Former school principal Dr. Marvin Keene said the case will likely change how districts nationwide approach safety alerts. “This was a chain of failures,” he explained. “There were opportunities to act — to check again, to search again, to take it seriously. That didn’t happen. And a teacher nearly died because of it.”
Zwerner, who has since left the classroom to focus on recovery and advocacy, told NBC News that she has no plans to return to teaching — but hopes to dedicate her life to education reform. “I love teaching,” she said. “But after this, I can’t walk into a school without remembering that day.”
The settlement was finalized after mediation between Zwerner’s legal team and the Newport News Public Schools board. The district has not admitted wrongdoing, but in a statement shared with Reuters, officials said they “deeply regret the events of January 6” and are “committed to ensuring no teacher or student ever faces such danger again.”
Parents in the community say the payout, while justified, does little to repair the trauma left behind. “My son still wakes up screaming,” said one mother whose child was in the classroom that day. “He’s seven now, but he won’t go to school without me walking him inside.”
“Abby’s courage saved lives. Her lawsuit may save many more.” @guardian
Critics of the district say the tragedy exposed a pattern of inaction, noting that school administrators were aware of multiple behavioral incidents involving the same child in previous months. “This wasn’t the first red flag,” one teacher told HuffPost. “It was just the one no one could ignore anymore.”
Despite her physical recovery, Zwerner said the emotional wounds remain. “Every loud noise, every hallway echo, I still flinch,” she told CNN. “You don’t forget something like that — a child pointing a gun at you.”
Since the verdict, lawmakers in Virginia have introduced new legislation requiring immediate lockdown procedures when staff suspect a student might have a weapon. Advocates hope it will become a model for schools nationwide. “If they had acted faster,” Toscano said, “we wouldn’t be talking about a lawsuit. We’d be talking about another normal school day.”
For Zwerner, the settlement represents justice — but not closure. “I think about that boy every day,” she said quietly. “He was six years old. He should’ve been learning how to read, not how to shoot.”
