GET THE APPNew Bodycam Footage Released in Virginia Teacher Shooting
Newly released police body camera footage shows the moments after a 6-year-old student shot his first-grade teacher inside a Virginia elementary school.
Newly released police body camera footage shows the moments after a 6-year-old student shot his first-grade teacher inside a Virginia elementary school.
A Newport News judge released the nearly three-minute video on October 6. It was recorded by Officer Brian Torrez, one of the first officers to reach the classroom at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia. The footage had been sealed because it shows a minor, and it was released on the condition that the child's face be blurred.
The shooting happened on January 6, 2023. Teacher Abby Zwerner was shot once, the bullet passing through her hand and into her chest. She survived after multiple surgeries.
In the footage, the boy tells officers the gun belonged to his mother and that he took it from her. Reading specialist Amy Kovac stayed with the child, holding him until police arrived.
Zwerner later won a $10 million civil verdict after a jury found a former school administrator ignored warnings the child might have a gun. The boy's mother pleaded guilty to charges connected to the shooting and received prison time.