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A Virginia teacher shot by her 6-year-old student told jurors she never isolated the boy from her class the day of the shooting, as the jury also heard from two defense experts who said the school’s former assistant principal acted reasonably.
In a video deposition played in court Monday, former first-grade teacher Abigail Zwerner was asked the key question: “Did you ever isolate [J.T.] from the class on January 6, 2023?”
“No,” she answered.
Zwerner has filed a $40 million negligence lawsuit against former Richneck Elementary assistant principal Ebony Parker. The teacher, then 25, alleged Parker ignored multiple warnings that the boy might have brought a 9-millimeter handgun to school.
The boy opened fire in the classroom, with the bullet passing through Zwerner’s left hand and into her chest, where it remains. The bullet narrowly missed her heart.
Dr. Leigh Hagan, a forensic psychologist, testified that he never met Zwerner or Parker but discussed the professional standards used when experts evaluate individuals in legal cases.
Hagan told jurors that psychologists are expected to consider “all available information” when forming opinions and to identify missing evidence that could affect their conclusions.
The defense also called Dr. Amy Klinger, a national school-safety expert and co-founder of the Educator’s School Safety Network. Klinger testified that, in her professional opinion, Parker did not breach professional standards and “was not indifferent” to Zwerner on the day of the shooting.
Asked whether Parker’s decision to delay a search of the child was reasonable, Klinger said yes, explaining that staff members were “appropriately cautious.”
“This is a 6-year-old, this is a little kid,” she said. “We are not going to just at will start doing body searches on kids, especially when there isn’t good information that would support that at that point.”
She added that, based on her review of the record, “it would be difficult for anyone to have foreseen” the child’s actions.
“The behaviors and actions show they did not perceive a plausible, imminent threat,” Klinger testified.
Under questioning, Klinger rejected claims that Parker sat idly at her desk as concerns came in.
“I wouldn’t say she never got out of her chair,” she said. “She provided assistance when it was asked for.”
Klinger also testified that there was “no evidence” Zwerner had secured students or immediately notified administrators of a serious infraction before the shooting.
Last week, Zwerner testified on the longstanding emotional and psychological effects of the shooting.
“The last thing I remember at the school, I thought I was dying. I thought I had died. I thought I was either on my way to heaven or in heaven,” Zwerner told the court. “Then it all went black. So, then I thought I wasn’t going there.”
Attorneys for the Newport News School Board maintain the shooting was an unforeseeable act by a 6-year-old and that Parker’s actions that day were measured and appropriate.
Parker faces a separate criminal trial on eight felony counts of child neglect, one for “each of the eight bullets that endangered students” in Zwerner’s classroom, prosecutors have said.
The boy’s mother, Deja Taylor, is serving a two-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to federal gun and child neglect charges.
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