A six-year-old who shot his teacher is said to have attacked another
Photo of the school sign.
A six-year-old boy who shot and killed a teacher at a Virginia school allegedly once choked another teacher “until she couldn’t breathe,” according to a legal filing filed by the injured teacher.
The child’s alleged past behavioral problems surfaced in a call to action sent by her attorney.
Abby Zwerner, 25, plans to sue the Newport News School District for alleged negligence.
She is recovering after being shot at Richneck Elementary on January 6th.
The lawsuit was requested by the Associated Press news agency through public records.
It describes allegations of previous behavioral problems the boy is said to have had at school, including shouting at staff and teachers, trying to beat students with his belt and choking a teacher.
During the week of the shooting, the boy is said to have “slammed” Mrs. Zwerner’s phone and, according to the damage report, it broke.
He was suspended for a day and killed Ms. Zwerner in her classroom the day he returned to school. The Police described the shooting as “premeditated”.
Ms. Zwerner’s lawyers previously said school leaders were warned three times that the boy might have had a gun on the day of the shooting.
The boy’s backpack was searched but no weapon was found. No further action was taken.
“It is a miracle that more people were not harmed,” attorney Diane Toscano wrote in the statement.
“The shooter spent all his time with a gun in his pocket, a gun loaded and ready to fire… while the first years were playing a lot.”
In a public statement last month, the boy’s family said the boy has an “acute disability.” They said the boy participated in a care plan at school related to his disability, which usually saw one of his parents walk him to school every day. During the filming week, he was unaccompanied for the first time.
The school superintendent lost his job amid the consequences of the incident and the deputy principal resigned.
The teacher involved in the alleged choking described in the lawsuit confirmed the incident with the Associated Press but asked not to be named. She said that in 2021 the boy came up behind her, wrapped his arms around her neck and pulled her back.
She said she informed the school administration about the incident, but did not get the kind of response she was hoping for.
The boy was later transferred to another school.