![]() Zwerner suffered permanent bodily injuries, physical pain, mental anguish, lost earnings and other damages, the lawsuit states. Police have described the shooting, which other students in Zwerner's first-grade class also witnessed, as "intentional." Zwerner was able to evacuate the classroom after it happened and another school employee, who her attorney said was another teacher, restrained the 6-year-old boy. "Tragically, almost an hour later, violence struck Richneck Elementary School."Ībout an hour later, the boy pulled the gun out of his pocket, aimed it at Zwerner and shot her, the lawsuit states. "He was told to wait the situation out, because the school day was almost over," Toscano said at the news conference in January. ![]() A guidance counselor then went to Parker's office and asked permission to search the boy for a gun, but Parker forbade him from doing so, "and stated that John Doe's mother would be arriving soon to pick him up," it states. The music teacher said that when he informed Parker, she said the backpack had already been searched and "took no further action," according to the lawsuit. The administrator downplayed the report from the teacher and the possibility of a gun, saying, and I quote, 'Well, he has little pockets.'"Īnother first-grade boy, who was crying, told a teacher the boy "had shown him a firearm he had in his pocket during recess." That teacher then contacted the office and told a music teacher, who answered the phone, what the boy told her about seeing the gun. "The administration could not be bothered. "The teacher then tells that same administrator that she believes the boy put the gun in his pocket before he went outside for recess,"said Diane Toscano, an attorney representing Zwerner, during a news conference about the shooting held at the end of January. Parker responded his "pockets were too small to hold a handgun and did nothing," the lawsuit states. Kovac told Ebony Parker that the boy had told students he had a gun. Kovac then searched the backpack but did not find a weapon. Zwerner told Kovac that she had seen the boy take something out of his backpack and put it into the pocket of his sweatshirt. The boy denied it, but refused to provide his backpack to Kovac, the lawsuit states. ![]() The lawsuit alleges that Parker "had no response, refusing even to look up at (Zwerner) when she expressed her concerns."Īt about 11:45 a.m., two students told Amy Kovac, a reading specialist, that the boy had a gun in his backpack. and told her the boy "was in a violent mood," threatened to beat up a kindergartener and stared down a security officer in the lunchroom. The lawsuit describes a series of warnings school employees gave administrators in the hours before the shooting, beginning with Zwerner, who went to the office of assistant principal Ebony Parker between 11:15 a.m. The boy's parents did not agree to put him in special education classes where he would be with other students with behavioral issues, the lawsuit states. Often after he was taken to the office, "he would return to class shortly thereafter with some type of reward, such as a piece of candy," according to the lawsuit. "Teachers' concerns with John Doe's behavior (were) regularly brought to the attention of Richneck Elementary School administration, and the concerns were always dismissed," the lawsuit states. ![]() In the lawsuit, Zwerner's attorneys say all of the defendants knew the boy "had a history of random violence" at school and at home, including an episode the year before, when he "strangled and choked" his kindergarten teacher.Ħ-year-old student used mother's gun to shoot teacher, police say 02:01 The board also voted to install metal detectors in every school in the district, beginning with Richneck, and to purchase clear backpacks for all students. A school district spokesperson has said Newton is still employed by the school district, but declined to say what position she holds. The superintendent was fired by the school board after the shooting, while the assistant principal resigned. No one, including the boy, has been charged in the shooting. Her attorney, Pamela Branch, has said that Newton was unaware of reports that the boy had a gun at school on the day of the shooting. The Associated Press couldn't immediately find a working phone number for Newton. A message left on a cellphone listing for Ebony Parker was not immediately returned. ![]()
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