Stories
Bodycam Footage Captures 6-Year-Old After Teacher Shooting in Virginia
- •Newly released body-camera footage reveals the moments after a six-year-old boy shot his first-grade teacher, Abby Zwerner, at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia, in January 2023.
- •The footage shows the child being restrained by reading specialist Amy Kovac while using profanity toward police officers and stating he stole the 9mm Taurus handgun from his mother.
- •Zwerner suffered life-threatening injuries when the bullet went through her hand and lodged in her chest, though no students were injured during the incident.
- •Kovac informed responding officers that she had previously warned Assistant Principal Ebony Parker about threats involving the child before the shooting occurred.
- •The video was unsealed following legal proceedings sought by local media, and it was previously utilized in Zwerner's civil lawsuit against Parker, where she was awarded 10 million dollars.
Key Questions Answered
The newly unsealed bodycam footage captures the immediate police response inside the classroom at Richneck Elementary School after teacher Abby Zwerner was shot in January 2023. It shows reading specialist Amy Kovac restraining the six-year-old boy in a bear hug, the 9mm Taurus handgun lying on the floor, and the child using profanity and stating that he stole the weapon from his mother.
In the unsealed bodycam footage, the six-year-old boy explains to authorities how he obtained the weapon, admitting, "My mom had that. I stole that from my mom".
Abbey Zwerner was awarded $10 million in a civil lawsuit against former assistant principal Ebony Parker after alleging that Parker failed to act on warnings that the child had a gun. Additionally, a separate criminal case against Parker was dismissed earlier in the year, and media outlets successfully petitioned to unseal the bodycam footage.
