RICHMOND, Va. — As the General Assembly met for a one-day legislative session on Wednesday, lawmakers took time out to honor Abigail Zwerner, the Newport News first-grade teacher who was shot and wounded by her 6-year-old student in January.
The Richneck Elementary teacher stood with her twin sister, brother, and mother as she was given a framed resolution commending her for her "heroic actions" and devotion to the safety of her students.
Police have said that after Zwerner was shot, she ushered her students to safety and was the last one to leave the classroom, despite life-threatening injuries. She collapsed in a school office and spent two weeks in the hospital. Since then, she's had four surgeries and is still recovering from wounds to her hand and chest. No one else was hurt in the shooting.
"She truly is one of Virginia's great heroes, and I have enormous admiration for her," said Senate Minority Leader Tommy Norment.
Last week, Zwerner filed a $40 million lawsuit against the school system, accusing school officials of ignoring multiple warnings from teachers and other school employees that the boy had brought a gun to school on the day of the shooting.
Zwerner's lawsuit also alleges that school officials knew the boy “had a history of random violence," including an episode when he “strangled and choked” his kindergarten teacher.
On Monday, a grand jury indicted the boy's mother on charges of felony child neglect and misdemeanor endangering a child by reckless storage of a firearm. The child used his mother’s 9 mm handgun to shoot Zwerner. Police say the weapon was purchased legally.
Prosecutors have also filed a petition seeking a special grand jury to investigate whether the “actions or omissions” of any school employees could lead to criminal charges.
Howard Gwynn, the commonwealth’s attorney in Newport News, wants the grand jury to probe whether any “security failures” contributed to the shooting.
The General Assembly was in session Wednesday to work through scores of Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s proposed amendments to legislation. The legislature could also challenge the Republican governor’s three vetoes.
Youngkin signed the majority of the legislation lawmakers sent him but sought amendments to 78 bills. Some of the changes lawmakers were taking up are small or technical; for other measures, Youngkin is seeking a more wholesale rewrite.
The Senate also welcomed a new member, Lamont Bagby, who won a special election last month to fill the open Richmond-based seat previously held by Jennifer McClellan. McClellan was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in a special election a month earlier.