Abigail Zwerner, teacher shot by first grader, resigns; lawyer says she was fired

By Leonardo Blair, Senior Reporter Wednesday, June 14, 2023

Abigail Zwerner, the Richneck Elementary School teacher who filed a $40 million lawsuit against school administrators after she was shot by a first-grade student in the chest in January, has reportedly resigned from her job with Newport News Public Schools in Virginia. But her attorney claims she was effectively fired.

Documents from Newport News Public Schools cited by WAVY suggest saying Zwerner's last day of employment with the school district was June 12. She notified district officials that she would not be returning to her job in March, according to NNPS Spokesperson Michelle Price.

In an email exchange with the school division's Human Resources Department, Zwerner said: "I wish to resign. Thank you."

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In an extended statement, the school division further noted that Zwerner "notified the Human Resources Department that she was resigning from her position as a teacher for NNPS on March 13, 2023."

"Ms. Zwerner was an employee of Newport News Public Schools until June 12, 2023, the last day of her contract," the statement reads. 

Zwerner's attorney Jeffrey Breit told WAVY that his client was essentially fired because she refused to accept workers' compensation, which would have prevented her from mounting her current lawsuit.

"To say we were shocked is an understatement; we have litigation," Breit said of his client. "They haven't paid her in a couple of months. They are trying to squeeze her. She has to August 1 to leave or re-sign, (but) they fired her two months early. The only thing I can think [of], they were trying to put pressure on her because we filed suit. It's outrageous, as outrageous as I've ever seen."

Breit claims the school division "tried to see if she would cash the worker comp check so they could claim, 'Oh, look, she took workers comp. She can't sue us now.'"

Deja Taylor, the 25-year-old mother whose 6-year-old shot Zwerner on Jan. 6, pleaded guilty on Monday to federal charges of making a false statement that she was not an unlawful drug user when she purchased the firearm used in the attack and making a false statement when purchasing the gun.

Taylor's son was not charged in the shooting because children younger than 7 are presumed unable to form the intent to carry out an illegal act under Virginia law. She was arrested in April and charged in state court with felony child neglect and recklessly leaving a loaded firearm to endanger a child.

In her lawsuit against school administrators and the school board, Zwerner claims they were aware of the boy's "history of random violence" yet did not do enough to address concerns the boy had a gun in his possession on the day she was shot.

Breit told WAVY that the school division should have at least offered his client disability payments.

"Newport News has a disability program that I know some teachers have received when they have been disabled," Breit said, "get paid while they are out. She has not received a single response to the disability letter from her doctor."