BREAKING: Assistant Principal FAILED To Stop 6 Year Old Student From Shooting His Teacher!

Added: 2026-05-19

[00:00:00]We are going to talk about what is happening with this trial with Ebony Parker. Ebony Parker was an assistant principal at a school in Virginia and apparently in this situation a 6-year-old brought a gun to school that was owned by his parents and shot his teacher.

[00:00:16]Now, why is Ebony Parker on trial? What does she have to do with this? Well, it's alleged that the teacher was shot.

[00:00:22]We're going to talk about her in a second, Abby Zwerner. Hopefully I said her name right. She is actually the one that informed the staff, the principal, and had conversations about this student being troubled and that something may have potentially could happen. Now, before we get into the background of that story officially and what's going to happen in the trial today, I want to talk to you guys about a civil suit that Abby actually won after she was shot.

[00:00:48]She was awarded $10 million for this instance and we're going to hear about it from ABC News. Check it out. Tonight to the case of the first-grade teacher shot by a 6-year-old. She argued the school ignored warnings and tonight here the jury's decision. Here's Pierre Thomas.

[00:01:02]Tonight a Virginia jury finding that an assistant principal failed to protect a first-grade teacher was shot by a 6-year-old in her class. We the jury on the issues joined find in favor of the plaintiff Abigail Zwerner and assess her damages at $10 million.

[00:01:18]It's a case that shocked the nation. The civil trial revealing for the first time those searing images of Abby Zwerner being raced to a hospital with a bullet inches from her heart. A bullet that remains inside her today too dangerous to remove. Zwerner in a dramatic moment taking the stand. I thought I had died.

[00:01:36]I thought I was either on my way to heaven or in heaven. A jury of three men and four women agreeing with the teachers' attorneys that assistant principal Ebony Parker ignored repeated warnings that the child who had a history of disruptive behavior had brought a gun to school. Dr. Parker's job is safety. A gun changes everything.

[00:01:55]You stop and you investigate.

[00:01:57]Yeah. David, the legal fight over what took place that day is not over. The assistant principal also faces a criminal trial set to begin in just a few weeks. David, hear Thomas on this again tonight. Thank you. Okay, so now we're going to get into what's happening in this criminal trial because this story is absolutely insane. Former Virginia assistant principal on trial after allegedly ignoring the warning signs before a 6-year-old shot his teacher.

[00:02:21]A jury previously awarded the teacher Abby Zwerner $10 million in a civil suit against Ebony Parker. I'll play the video here in a second, but let's get into the article.

[00:02:30]A former Virginia assistant principal is on trial today for felony child neglect charges after prosecutors say she ignored the warning signs that a 6-year-old student had a loaded gun before the child shot his teacher in 2023.

[00:02:45]Jury selection began on Monday in Newport News and the trial of Ebony Parker, the former assistant principal in Richneck the Richneck Elementary School. Parker, who has pleaded not guilty of course, faces eight felony charges of child neglect tied to the shooting of the first-grade teacher Abby Zwerner according to the Associated Press. Prosecutors allege school employees warned Parker that the student might have a gun, but she failed to take action before the shooting happened, the outlet reported. She just said, "Ah, we'll be all right." Jeez.

[00:03:16]Parker's defense has argued she's being unfairly blamed for the broader failures that preceded the shooting.

[00:03:23]Prosecutors brought one count of each of the eight eight bullets loaded in the gun. That makes sense.

[00:03:30]If convicted, Parker could face up to 5 years in prison on each count. The shooting happened in January 6th of 2023 when authorities say the 6-year-old student shot Zwerner while she was teaching. She was hospitalized for nearly 2 weeks and underwent six surgeries after the bullet narrowly missed her heart. She still has limited use of her left hand and they couldn't even remove the bullet as we heard. In November of 2025, a jury awarded Werner $10 million in a civil suit against Parker alleging the former administrator dismissed concerns that the student might have brought a gun to school. In a statement to Fox News Digital at the time, Zwerner's legal team said the verdict marked a major step forward in Abby's long road of healing.

[00:04:17]During the earlier civil trial, Parker's attorneys argued that the shooting was unforeseeable and maintained she did not have legal responsibility to protect Zwerner from the attack. Zwerner is expected to testify in the criminal trial and she is actually on the stand right now as we are doing this video and we're going to get into her testimony at some point. So, make sure you guys stay tuned for that. Abbots already said the child got the gun from his mother's purse after climbing onto a dresser.

[00:04:44]Lord, y'all. Gun owners, come on, we can do better. This happens too often. And the only reason this is being reported is because it happened to a a teacher and there's been multiple instances that there's been legal ramifications, whether that's the lawsuit or the criminal trial.

[00:05:01]The student's mother was previously sentenced to nearly four years in prison. We're actually going to hear from the mother as well. Check this out.

[00:05:10]This is This is crazy.

[00:05:13]And actually, let me go to this to hear what happened with the mom while that commercial is playing. Check this out.

[00:05:18]The Virginia mom of the 6-year-old shot a teacher. She pleads guilty to child neglect. I mean, she really didn't have a choice.

[00:05:23]>> shootings in the US are no longer a rarity, what happened at this Virginia elementary school in January was shocking. The shooter was only 6 years old. The victim, his 25-year-old teacher, Abigail Zwerner. Despite being shot, she managed to get all of her students to safety. Female victim, she had been shot in the abdomen as well as a through and through in the hand.

[00:05:45]Beyond the ongoing criminal and civil cases, the family of the first-grader who shot his teacher has remained quiet until now. Does he talk about the incident? No. He talks a lot more about the day before or the two days before than he does about January 6th. Shortly after the shooting, the family released a statement saying, "Our son suffers from an acute disability and was under a care plan at the school that included his mother or father accompanying him to class every day. The week of the shooting was the first week when we were not in class with him." What can you tell us specifically about your son's disability? So, he has ADHD. Some are able to have it at a very mild rate, but he's off the wall, doesn't sit still ever.

[00:06:32]And why did the school decide that it was no not longer necessary for the family to be in in class? He had started medication and he was meeting his goals um academically. Had your son ever spoken like about hurting the teacher or was there anything like any angst that he had against her? No, he actually really liked her. I will say that week he did come home and he was talking, you know, a lot about how he felt like he was being ignored. So, he would come home and, "Mom, I don't think that she was listening to me. I didn't like that."

[00:07:07]Wow. And actually he ended up getting suspended the next day because he was in class. He was trying to tell her something um and she asked him to go sit back down.

[00:07:17]He threw his arms up. He said, "Fine."

[00:07:19]And when he threw his arms up, he knocked her phone out of her hand on accident. And he got suspended for that. Zwerner did not respond to ABC News' request for comment, but in a lawsuit she says the student slammed the cell phone on the ground so hard that it cracked and shattered. She's now filed a $40 million lawsuit against the Newport News School District and Richneck Elementary officials claiming they ignored multiple warnings about the student's behavior and concerns that he had a gun.

[00:07:48]According to the suit, the child had a history of random violence and that he attacked students and teachers alike both in and out of school.

[00:07:56]Is that description accurate? Whether it is or isn't, the school enrolled him in September knowing all of the past behaviors. The school district released a statement to ABC News saying it cannot release information about a student's educational record. And last month, the district filed to dismiss Werner's suit arguing her injuries fall under workers compensation.

[00:08:21]The gun used in the shooting was legally purchased by Taylor. She says it was kept locked away. Her attorney would not say how the 6-year-old got it. Well, we know now how he got it. access the gun.

[00:08:32]Nobody there. No one knows. Let me just ask this and I'll direct it to you, Jimmy. Is it that no one has asked about how he got it or you're just not ready to reveal how he got it?

[00:08:42]We are not ready to discuss that at this point. Yes, people have talked to him about that. He climbed up on the dresser, y'all. adult knows exactly how he got the gun. Was the gun locked somewhere?

[00:08:57]It was locked somewhere.

[00:08:58]In April, Taylor was charged with a felony count of child neglect and a misdemeanor count of recklessly leaving a firearm as to endanger a child. Her trial is set for August. Do you feel in any way responsible for the shooting?

[00:09:11]Yes, of course. Um that is my son, so I am as a parent obviously to take responsibility for him because he can't take responsibility for himself. Anything that either of you would like to say to Abigail Zwerner? I just truly would like to apologize that, you know, out of the incident, she did get hurt.

[00:09:32]Um we were actually kind of forming like [snorts] a relationship with me having to be in the classroom. Um She was a really bright person.

[00:09:43]Wow.

[00:09:45]So, we're actually going to move forward and hear from the family now after this. We did We got to see this interview and what they had to say closer to the time.

[00:09:55]Now, we're going to move forward in time and hear what they had to say about the shooting when they went on to Good Morning America.

[00:10:02]Crazy stuff.

[00:10:03]>> Now to the latest in that alarming story of the 6-year-old Virginia boy who shot his teacher. His family is breaking their silence speaking for the first time since the shooting. Janai Norman has the details. Good morning, Janai.

[00:10:15]Michael, good morning. This story has so many people talking. The family now saying their heart goes out to their son's teacher and that she selflessly served her students and thanking her for her courage, grace, and sacrifice. They say their family has been committed to responsible gun ownership and keeping firearms out of the reach of children.

[00:10:34]So, there are so many questions that remain over how that gun got into the hands of a child.

[00:10:40]This morning, regret for the family of the first-grader accused of shooting his teacher.

[00:10:45]>> Female victim, she's been shot in the abdomen as well as a through-and-through into the hand. The nation stunned earlier this month when Newport News, Virginia police responded to Richneck Elementary School for a 6-year-old who'd opened fire. The family now revealing in a statement to ABC News, "Our son suffers from an acute disability and was under a care plan at the school that included his mother or father attending school with him and accompanying him to class every day. The week of the shooting was the first week when we were not in class with him. We will regret our absence on this day for the rest of our lives." Police say the first-grader took his mother's legally purchased 9-mm handgun from home and fired one round at 25-year-old Abigail Zwerner as she taught the elementary students.

[00:11:36]>> It It felt like something out of a really bad nightmare. Desiree Yvette's daughter was one of the more than a dozen children in that classroom. She just She's scared.

[00:11:48]>> imagine?

[00:11:49]Mrs. Zwerner is her favorite girl, and she would always say it, and >> [snorts] >> for her to get shot, my daughter doesn't know anymore like who's safe, and she's scared that the people she loves >> [snorts] >> will get hurt. The family telling ABC News they have been cooperating with local and federal law enforcement, adding that the firearm our son accessed was secured. Police still investigating how the 6-year-old got a hold of the gun, and questions mounting after school leaders told parents they got a tip that the student had a weapon, even searched his backpack, but didn't find the firearm before Zwerner was shot. Now, that's going to be an interesting part of this case, because if they did search the backpack and didn't find the gun, if they did their due diligence, they did their part, that may actually be and serve the defendant well. We'll have to see how this plays out.

[00:12:49]>> Horrified parents and faculty members voiced frustrations at a recent school board meeting. I send my kids to school and find myself praying to God that they will return home safely. Our students do not wonder if there will be another school shooting.

[00:13:04]They wonder when and where the next shooting will be.

[00:13:09]And we've heard the teacher is back home recovering, but guys, it is the issue of the school being tipped off about that student possibly having a weapon, even searching his backpack and not finding it, that really has parents there so upset, even calling for the superintendent to resign, guys.

[00:13:25]All right, so there it is. We're going to be covering this trial as it goes on.

[00:13:28]Make sure if you haven't yet, go tune into the Jury of Your Peers channel where you'll be able to see the full uninterrupted live stream of this trial.

[00:13:36]It starts today. You guys let me know what you think in the comments in the chat.