NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Ebony Parker, who worked as the assistant principal at Richneck Elementary School the day Abby Zwerner was shot by a 6-year-old student in January 2023, will now face a criminal trial after a jury in a civil lawsuit found her grossly negligent on Thursday.
Parker's trial on eight counts of felony child neglect — one for each bullet in the gun used by the child — is expected to begin Nov. 17 and last about three days.
The ex-assistant principal's criminal case comes less than two weeks after a jury delivered its verdict in the civil lawsuit filed by Zwerner. Parker did not take the stand in the civil case, which wrapped Thursday with a verdict that awarded Zwerner $10 million.
Watch: Zwerner's legal team happy with lawsuit outcome
Zwerner's legal team successfully convinced the jury of seven that Parker had sufficient knowledge and adequate time to act after she heard reports of a student with a gun. Testimony from Richneck teachers and others showed that she was notified at least four times about the gun, Zwerner's team argued.
With make-up state testing taking place that day — Jan. 6, 2023 — attorneys for Zwerner attempted to show that Parker was more concerned about testing than the gun reports.
Parker's attorneys countered by saying school administrators are not solely responsible for student and teacher safety, and if Zwerner and others had known about the gun report, they could have taken further action before the shooting.
The boy who pulled the trigger, referred to in court only as JT, told authorities he had taken the gun from his mother's purse, brought it to school in his backpack, and moved it to his pocket before shooting Zwerner in her first-grade classroom.
Watch: Abby Zwerner's full testimony
Amy Kovac, a reading specialist at Richneck Elementary, testified in the civil trial that she told Parker about the gun three times before the shooting happened. During one of those instances, Kovac told the court Parker dismissed the claim that it could have been a gun because the boy's pockets were too small for a gun. Despite the warnings, Parker took no action, Kovac said.
If convicted, Parker could spend up to 40 years in prison.
