NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Saturday, January 6 will mark one year since a 6-year-old boy at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News shot his first-grade teacher.
That teacher, Abby Zwerner, was seriously hurt in the shooting. Now for the first time since that fateful day, Zwerner is opening up about her life from the past 12 months to local news outlets, including 13News Now. Along with her attorney, she sat down with 13News Now anchor Janet Roach for a one-on-one interview.
"It’s still shocking," Zwerner said of the traumatic event. "Was shocking at first, shocking months after... was shocking last month. It’s still shocking."
But despite what happened, she still maintains hope.
"Just because something terrible happened to me that should never happened, there is still kindness and good left in the world," she said.
Watch our full interview with Zwerner below:
Zwerner was critically injured while teaching on Jan. 6, 2023, when the boy fired a single shot at her, striking her hand and chest, breaking bones and puncturing a lung. She spent weeks in the hospital, had five surgeries. She previously said the shooting so mentally scars her that she does not plan to return to teaching.
Last month the boy's mother, Deja Taylor, was sentenced to two years in prison on a state child neglect charge. That's on top of her already serving nearly two years on federal charges of using marijuana while owning a gun.
Even though Taylor did not pull the trigger, a judge said she is liable for the “reckless decisions" that led to the shooting.