Virginia teacher shot by 6-year-old student breaks silence with interview

In her first public interview since being shot by a 6-year-old student, Virginia teacher Abigail Zwerner said she will be haunted forever by memories of the incident.

“There’s some things that I’ll never forget, and I just will never forget the look on his face that he gave me while he pointed the gun directly at me,” Zwerner told NBC’s Today Show.

Zwerner said that while the day started like any other normal day, her fear that something was off began to grow “as the day went on,” she said. 

Previously, Zwerner sought the help of a school administrator at Richneck Elementary in Newport News after the child had threatened to beat up another student. Then a second teacher went to an administrator and searched the boy’s backpack, she said.

Another teacher also reported that the boy had shown a gun to his playmates at recess.

Zwerner recalled a “surreal” feeling after being first shot through the left hand, before the bullet tore into her chest.

She said after that, everything was just a blur, as she walked to an office and began to slip into unconsciousness.

“I didn’t know at the time that my lung had collapsed, but I started not being able to breathe, very raspy breaths, and my vision started going out,” Zwerner said. “I remember I went to the office and I just passed out. I thought I had died.”

In retrospect, she believes that by putting her hand up defensively, it saved her life.

“It could’ve been fatal,” Zwerner told Today.

“We believe – with my hand being up, with it going through my hand first – we believe that, by the bullet going through the hand first, that it most likely saved my life,” she said.

Zwerner intends to file a lawsuit against the district for failing to follow-up on clear warning signs that something was wrong with the 6-year old.

The family of the boy claims he has an “acute disability” and they are unaware of how he got possession of the gun.

The city prosecutor has said he will not be charging the child with a crime, but as of yet has made no decision about any adults he might charge, such as members of the family.

Newport News commonwealth attorney Howard Gwynn told NBC News that the “prospect that a 6-year-old can stand trial is problematic,” because a young child lacks capacity to understand what he is doing. “Our objective is not just to do something as quickly as possible.”

“Once we analyze all the facts, we will charge any person or persons that we believe we can prove beyond a reasonable doubt committed a crime,” he added.

The family of the 6-year old is grateful. 

“We welcome the prosecutor’s decision and continue to pray for Ms. Zwerner’s complete recovery,” Jamie Ellenson, an attorney for the 6-year-old boy’s family, said in a statement to NBC News.

Zwerner said that she has some good days and some bad days. There are some days she can’t even get out of bed. But she’s thankful for all of the support she’s received. 

“I’m not sure when the shock will ever go away because of just how surreal it was,” she said.

“And the vivid memories that I have of that day, I think about it daily. Sometimes I have nightmares. Seeing an open wound on your body and remembering how you got it is pretty traumatizing in itself,” added Zwerner.

Principal Briana Foster-Newton, Assistant Principal Ebony Parker and Superintendent George Parker have each either been fired or resigned their positions with the district.