The civil trial involving a Virginia educator, who was wounded by a gunshot fired by her 6-year-old pupil, reached a pivotal moment on Wednesday as both sides delivered their closing arguments. The jury is now tasked with deliberating over the potentially precedent-setting case, which involves claims for millions in damages.
Abigail Zwerner, who formerly taught at Richneck Elementary School, is pursuing a $40 million lawsuit against ex-Assistant Principal Ebony Parker. Zwerner accuses Parker of negligently ignoring warnings that a student might have brought a firearm to the school premises.
According to Zwerner’s legal representatives, this oversight led to Zwerner sustaining gunshot wounds to her chest and hand on January 6, 2023. The incident was nearly fatal, with the bullet narrowly missing her heart and remaining lodged in her body.
During Wednesday’s closing statements, Kevin Biniazan, representing Zwerner, criticized Parker for allegedly disregarding multiple warnings about the child having a gun at school.
Former Richneck Elementary School teacher Abby Zwerner glances back at the courtroom during her civil lawsuit trial on Tuesday, October 28, 2025, in Newport News, Virginia. (Stephen M. Katz/The Virginian-Pilot via AP, Pool)
“A gun changes everything,” Biniazan emphasized, as reported by WAVY. “It demands immediate attention and investigation.”
Zwerner’s team reportedly added that Parker allegedly ignored multiple attempts by school faculty to warn her about the child’s behavior leading up to the shooting.
However, Parker’s attorney, Sandra Douglas, argued that her client used “real-time judgement, not hindsight judgements” in the moments leading up to the shooting, according to the outlet.
“Your job is to consider only what Dr. Parker knew at the time,” Douglas reportedly told the jury.
Parker’s attorney went on to question Zwerner’s testimony in court, looking to poke holes in her claims of becoming a “recluse” after the shooting, the outlet reported.
“I’m not minimizing what happened to Ms. Zwerner, I’m not doing that,” Douglas said. “But when someone is asking for $40 million, it’s my job to tell you, there is another side to that story.”
Abby Zwerner, a teacher who was shot at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Va., by her 6-year-old student last year, talks to reporter Peter Dujardin, on Wednesday in Virginia Beach, Va. (Stephen M. Katz /The Virginian-Pilot via AP)
However, Biniazan argued in his rebuttal that Zwerner’s mental state has been deeply impacted by the shooting, pointing to her life expectancy being reduced to just 53 years as a result.
“When you’re deciding what’s fair and what’s fair, you’re not just deciding tomorrow and what might happen the next day,” Biniazan said, according to WTKR. “We don’t get to come back here in five, 10, 15 years and bring you all together and ask Ms. Zwerner, ‘How are you doing? Are you still waking up at nine? Do you still see that face?’”
Last week, Zwerner, who was 25 at the time of the shooting, weighed in on the events’ impact on her emotional and psychological state while on the stand.
“The last thing I remember at the school, I thought I was dying. I thought I had died. I thought I was either on my way to heaven or in heaven,” Zwerner told the court. “Then it all went black. So, then I thought I wasn’t going there.”
In addition to the landmark civil lawsuit, Parker is also facing a criminal trial on eight felony counts of child neglect – one charge for “each of the eight bullets that endangered students” in Zwerner’s classroom, according to prosecutors.
The child’s mother, Deja Taylor, is currently serving a two-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to child neglect and gun charges.
The seven-person jury is set to resume deliberations on Thursday.
Neither Zwerner’s nor Parker’s attorney immediately responded to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
