NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Attorney Coreen Silverman confirmed to 13News Now Monday morning she is representing Dr. Ebony Parker, the former assistant principal at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, in her case surrounding Abby Zwerner's lawsuit.
This comes four months after police say a six-year-old student brought his mother's handgun to the school and shot Zwerner, his teacher.
Dr. Parker has remained silent since the incident, even resigning shortly after the shooting in January.
Now the former educator is joining the defense against Zwerner's $40 million lawsuit.
Zwerner filed the lawsuit against Parker and other school administrators, saying multiple teachers warned Parker on at least three separate occasions the student may have had a gun on him hours before the shooting.
The lawsuit goes on to say Parker told teachers the boy, "has small pockets," implying he couldn't hide a gun in his clothing.
Zwerner's attorneys also claim an hour before the shooting, a school counselor asked the Assistant Principal to check the six-year-old for a gun, a request which they said Parker dismissed.
Coreen Silverman said because we've heard from Abby Zwerner's and the school board's attorneys, she wants more people to know Parker's side of the story.
Pamela Branch, the attorney representing former Richneck Elementary School Principal, Briana Foster-Newton, said her client was not made aware of any threats or concerns about a gun on school grounds that day. Branch said she plans to file a countersuit to Zwerner's $40 million lawsuit.
There are no court documents filed under Branch in Newport News Circuit Court concerning the lawsuit. 13News Now reached out to Branch's team about the countersuit, but we have not heard back.
Newport News Commonwealth's Attorney, Howard Gwynn, only charged the boy's mother, Deja Taylor, in this case.
However, he said more people could face charges, depending on the results of a special grand jury investigation.