US teacher shot by 6-year-old awarded $17 million

A jury awarded US$10 million to Abby Zwerner, a teacher shot by a 6-year-old student. Photo / Getty Images

A Virginia jury on Thursday awarded US$10 million ($17.7m) to a former school teacher who was shot by a 6-year-old student.

Abby Zwerner, 28, was severely wounded in the January 2023 shooting at an elementary school in the city of Newport News.

Zwerner, a first grade teacher, was hospitalised for two weeks with injuries to her hand and chest after being hit by a single bullet.

Zwerner filed a lawsuit against assistant principal Ebony Parker accusing her of ignoring warnings that the child had brought a gun to school.

Alleging gross negligence, Zwerner was seeking US$40m ($70.9m) in damages.

The jury awarded Zwerner US$10m following a trial during which she took the stand and testified that she “thought I had died”.

The mother of the student who shot Zwerner was sentenced to four years in prison after being convicted of child neglect and firearms charges.

No charges were brought against the child.

While accidents involving young children accessing unsecured firearms in their homes are common in the United States, school shootings perpetrated by those under 10 years old are rare.

A database compiled by US researcher David Riedman has registered about 15 such incidents since the 1970s.

– Agence France-Presse