Teacher who was shot by 6yr old studen allegedly fired

On March 20th and 22nd, Zwerner received two identical emails advising the former teacher addressing administrative logistics pertaining to her professional separation from the district. The emails were both titled, “Exit Letter” and stated that “NNPS has processed a separation of employment for you effective the close of business 06/12/2023.”

Jeffrey Breit, Abby Zwerner’s attourney, calls these emails a firing. He said, “I don’t think you can read this any other way than you’ve been fired. And that’s what she thinks. She doesn’t understand it. There’s no other communication.”

According to Michelle Price, NNPS Spokesperson, Zwerner previously emailed the school’s Human Resources Department a letter that read, “I wish to resign. Thank you.”

Breit maintains that his client was stunned when she received her termination letter. He said:

“To say we were shocked is an understatement; we have litigation. They haven’t paid her in a couple of months. They are trying to squeeze her. She has to August 1 to leave or re-sign, (but) they fire her two months early. The only thing I can think, they were trying to put pressure on her because we filed suit. It’s outrageous, as outrageous as I’ve ever seen.”

The gun used by the six-year-old shooter belonged to his mother, Deja Taylor who — coicidentally — appeared in court to face federal charges on Zwerner’s final day or employment with NNPS. She ultimately plead guilty to two charges related to Zwerner’s shooting: unlawful user of a controlled substance in possession of a firearm and making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm.

Zwerner filed a $40 million lawsuit against the Newport News School Board and several high level administrators. One of the attounries fighting Zwerner’s case requested that the suit be dismissed claiming that Zwerner was injured in the performance of her job which should be covered by workers compensation.

Zwerner’s attourney advised that he would be asking “every first-grade teacher [in the district if] getting shot by one of your students was part of your job description.”

Breit also said, “While this woman was protecting 20 other students and risking her life, they decided to fire her because she wouldn’t drop her lawsuit. That is part of the damages you are entitled to a reward for, and we are going to ask you for that.”