The 6-year-old Virginia boy who shot and wounded his first-grade teacher allegedly choked another teacher “until she couldn’t breathe,” according to a legal notice filed by an attorney for the wounded teacher.
The Richneck Elementary School boy allegedly tried to whip other students with his belt, “slammed” the phone of the teacher he later shot, breaking it, and constantly cursed at staff and teachers, per the Associated Press.
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First-grade teacher Abigail Zwerner was shot by her student on Jan. 6, two days after he allegedly broke her phone and was suspended from school for one day. Zwerner is suing the school district after it was revealed the school was warned three times about the student and received a tip the day of the shooting that he might have a weapon in his backpack. School officials said they checked his bag but did not locate a weapon.
The choking incident was confirmed by the other teacher, according to the Associated Press. The news outlet reported she said that in 2021, the boy came up behind her as she sat in a chair in front of the class, locked his forearms in front of her neck, and forcefully pulled her back and down before a teaching assistant pulled the boy off her.
The teacher, who spoke anonymously over fears of retaliation, said she told the school district but did not get the supportive response she was looking for. The boy was moved to a different school in the district.
After the Jan. 6 shooting, the Newport News, Virginia, school district cut ties with Superintendent George Parker. The principal and assistant principal also left the school.
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The 6-year-old boy was taken to a medical facility to receive services, of which kind is not known. Zwerner is continuing to recover.
More details will likely come out as the lawsuit continues, shedding light on a harrowing case that brought the problem of gun violence into the national spotlight again, though this time through the lens of education and child and teacher safety.
