Summary of the Attack

In January 2023, a 6-year-old student at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia, shot his first-grade teacher, Abby Zwerner, inside her classroom. 

At least 4 staff members had raised concerns earlier that same day, reporting that the student might have brought a gun to school. Despite multiple warnings, no search of the student was ever conducted. 

Zwerner was shot through the hand and into her chest but survived after being hospitalized with life-threatening injuries. 

Central Issue in the Trial 

During the civil trial that began on October 28, 2025, Zwerner’s attorneys argued that former assistant principal Ebony Parker failed to act on repeated warnings and was negligent in her duty to protect both staff and students. 

They contend that, regardless of how unusual it might seem for a 6-year-old to commit such violence, it was Parker’s responsibility to consider that possibility and take appropriate precautions. 

The Defense Argument 

Parker’s defense maintains that the shooting was unforeseeable—that no reasonable person could have expected a child so young to intentionally shoot a teacher. The defense has also implied that Zwerner herself could have taken additional steps for her own safety, framing the event as an unforeseeable tragedy rather than a preventable failure of school leadership. 

My Summary 

An unforeseeable tragedy is one that no one saw coming.
That’s literally what “unforeseeable” means—no warning, no signs, no chance to intervene. But on the day Abby Zwerner was shot, at least four adults and three students did see it coming. 

One staff member reported it 3 times! 

They recognized the danger, voiced their fears and one student, after seeing the gun, told his teacher who then reported it directly to Parker. 

Violence is predictable.
It leaves warnings, patterns, and fear long before it erupts. Just like it did at Richneck Elementary. That’s never in doubt. What is in doubt, just like at Richneck Elementary, is what will be done with that information. 

Will the signs be taken seriously enough to act. 

In this case, prevention was simple—search the student.
One staff member asked to do exactly that and was told no.
Whether or not Dr. Parker is found legally guilty is still left to be decided.
But this was not an unforeseeable tragedy. 

It didn’t come out of nowhere.
It wasn’t hidden. Numerous people saw the warning signs and spoke up. 

What is seen can be stopped.
And this should have been stopped—because it was seen.

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