- A teacher at Richneck Elementary School in Virginia was shot by a 6-year-old student in January.
- Abigail Zwerner filed a $40 million lawsuit on Monday accusing officials of ignoring warning signs.
A Virginia teacher who was shot by a 6-year-old earlier this year has filed a $40 million lawsuit against school officials, arguing the student had a history of violence that was left unchecked.
Abigail Zwerner, a first-grade teacher at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia, said that school administrators ignored multiple warning signs before she was shot, a press release published by her lawyers said.
The 6-year-old, who has not been named but is male, shot Zwerner with a 9mm gun during a lesson on January 6, NBC reported. The bullet traveled through her hand and into her chest, and she had to have multiple surgeries.
"The child who shot Ms. Zwerner had a history of violence with both students and teachers," her lawyers said in the press release, adding that the 6-year-old had previously been removed from kindergarten after he "strangled and choked" another teacher.
"Ultimately the school administrators allowed the child to return in the fall of 2022, but he was quickly placed on a modified schedule after threatening other classmates at recess," the release said.
Under this new schedule, the child had to have a parent attend school with him, the release added, but no parent was present on the day Zwerner was shot.
Two days before the shooting, the student slammed Zwerner's phone on the ground, shattering the screen, the release also said. Zwerner had reported the incident to a guidance counselor but when the boy called her and the counselor by a "derogatory name," he was suspended for a day, it added.
The child was dropped off by his mother on the day of the shooting, but she did not stay at school with him, the release added.
The Washington Post reported earlier this year that before the incident, the child had also written a note to Zwerner in which he said that he hated her and wanted to light her on fire and watch her die.
Authorities have said that the shooting was "intentional" and "not accidental," Insider's Alia Shoaib previously reported.
"Essentially, this child was a ticking time bomb on school property and the administration chose to ignore the problem," one of Zwerner's lawyers, Jeffrey Breit, said in the press release.
"Abigail Zwerner deserved more from the school system and now she will live with the results of their neglect for the rest of their life," he added.
In an interview with the 'Today' show's Savannah Guthrie last month, Zwerner said that her injuries "could have been fatal," but that her attempt to block the bullet with her hands probably saved her life.
"I was terrified. In that moment my initial reaction was, 'your kids need to get out of here. This is not a safe classroom anymore. And then you need to go find help for yourself,' " Zwerner said.
Zwerner has been unable to work since the incident, and is unsure about whether she will return to the school, the press release said.
Richneck Elementary School did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.