New documents shed light on Richneck shooting timeline
Tonight we are learning more about what exactly happened at Richneck Elementary School on January 6th. That's the day a six-year-old boy shot his teacher, 25-year-old Abby Zwirner. We've learned Zwirner and her attorney, Diane Tuscano, sent a notice to Newport News Public Schools of intent to file a lawsuit. Sarah Hammond takes us through the timeline for that day, laid out by Zwirner and Tuscano. Tonight we're learning at least three different staff members directly notified former Richneck Elementary School Assistant Principal Ebonie Parker. The student had a gun, but she took no action. That's according to these documents from Abby's Wirner's attorney, Diane Tuscano.
Parker has since resigned from her position, and Tuscano calls her lack of action gross negligence. It's a day these parents won't soon forget. I was freaking out. They scared him. He said he actually didn't want to come back. Weeks later, we're getting a better idea of what happened at Richneck Elementary School. In a notice of intent to file a lawsuit, Tuscano says it's a miracle more people were not harmed.
She says former Assistant Principal Ebonie Parker was notified multiple times the six-year-old boy likely had a gun. Around 1130 the day of the shooting, Tuscano says Zwirner warned Parker the student seemed off and was in a, quote, violent mood. He threatened to beat up a kindergartner and angrily stared down a security officer in the lunchroom. That same day, Tuscano says around 1145, students told a different teacher about the gun. When the teacher took it upon themselves to search the boy's backpack around 1230, they didn't find one and were told it was likely in his pocket. Tuscano says Parker was notified and replied, he has small pockets. Then around one o'clock, one of Zwirner's students told a different teacher.
The shooter showed him the gun and threatened to shoot him if he told anyone. Two teachers and a guidance counselor informed Parker and, according to Tuscano, were told they could not search the student's person because his mom would be coming to pick him up soon. 45 minutes later, the boy shot Zwirner in her left hand and upper chest while she was sitting at her reading table. This was, according to Tuscano, not the first time Parker had witnessed or heard about his behavior problems. Tuscano claims the boy had previously choked a teacher, had a habit of cursing at staff, and tried to whip classmates with his belt at recess. Just one day before the shooting, Tuscano says the boy was suspended for slamming and breaking Zwirner's phone. According to Tuscano, the events leading up to the shooting are, quote, evidence of bad faith and reckless conduct by administrators.
Through her attorney, Richneck principal Brianna Foster-Newton maintains she was never notified about reports of a gun. And Tuscano makes no mention of Foster-Newton in these documents. Foster-Newton has since been reassigned within the division. Sarah Hammond for 13 News Now. Based on documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act request, we've learned two other parents have also notified the division they intend to sue. A mother and father claim their daughter was bullied, harassed and assaulted, but the division did not take action. She was in the same class as the shooter.
Another father, Mark Garcia-Senior, cites injury sustained during the school shooting. None of the parties disclosed how much money they are seeking from the division. The GoFundMe page for Zwirner has already raised more than $268,000. Her attorney says she is improving physically, but the psychological scars will be long-lasting. And she hopes the division will not drags Werner through litigation.
[ newport-news, local, mycity ], news