Attorney: Va. 1st-Grade Teacher Shot by Student Was Fired

Virginia teacher Abby Zwerner, who was shot by her first-grade student in January, is no longer employed by Newport News Public Schools (NNPS), though her attorney and the school district disagree on whether she was fired or resigned.

According to WAVY, two identical emails sent to Zwerner on March 20 and May 22, with the subject line “Exit Letter,” state that “NNPS has processed a separation of employment for you effective the close of business 06/12/2023.”

The rest of the one-page email from the Human Resources Department outlined what items Zwerner was to return and where she should direct questions regarding leave balances, paychecks, VRS retirement plans and insurance benefits. It also asked her to complete an exit survey.

On Tuesday, Jeffrey Breit, Zwerner’s attorney, told WAVY that his client had been fired.

“I don’t think you can read this any other way than ‘you’ve been fired,’ ” Breit said. “And that’s what she thinks. She doesn’t understand it; there’s no other communication.”

NNPS spokesperson Michelle Price said that Zwerner informed the school system that she would not be returning in March.

“The email that Ms. Zwerner received from the Human Resources Department is a confirmation of her separation of service from Newport News Public Schools,” Price said in a statement to WAVY. “Every employee who is separating from the school division receives a similar communication. Ms. 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 added.

Breit said Zwerner said they couldn’t believe it when the email arrived.

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

Zwerner has filed a $40 million lawsuit against the Newport News School Board, former Superintendent Dr. Gregory Parker, former Richneck Principal Briana Foster-Newton and former Richneck Assistant Principal Dr. Ebony Parker.

According to Breit, the school district has not paid Zwerner since February. He claims district officials tried to make her take workers’ comp, but stopped paying her when she wouldn’t take it.

Zwerner, who was 25 at the time of the shooting, was seriously injured when her 6-year-old student shot her in her classroom at Richneck Elementary School on Jan. 6.

Police confirmed the gun used by the 6-year-old belonged to his mother, Deja Taylor. She pleaded guilty on Monday to two federal charges tied to the case, unlawful user of a controlled substance in possession of a firearm and making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm.