VA. TEACHER SHOT BY 6-YEAR-OLD DESCRIBES CHALLENGING RECOVERY

A Virginia teacher who was shot and wounded by her 6-year-old student said she has had four surgeries and is going through a challenging recovery.

Speaking publicly for the first time since the Jan. 6 shooting, first-grade teacher Abby Zwerner said during an exclusive interview with NBC’s Savannah Guthrie that she has some days when she “can’t get up out of bed,” while others she is able to go about her day and make it to appointments.

“For going through what I’ve gone through, I try to stay positive. You know, try to have a positive outlook on what’s happened and where my future’s heading,” Zwerner said in a portion of the interview that aired Monday on “NBC Nightly News.”

Zwerner was hospitalized for nearly two weeks after being shot in the chest and left hand as she taught her class at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Va. The shooting rattled the military shipbuilding community and sent shock waves around the country, with many wondering how a child so young could get access to a gun and shoot his teacher.

Zwerner’s attorney, Diane Toscano, told reporters in January that concerned staff at the school had warned administrators three times that the 6-year-old had a gun and was threatening other students in the hours before Zwerner was shot. Toscano said the school administration “was paralyzed by apathy” and didn’t call police, remove the boy from class or lock down the school.

In February, Zwerner’s legal notice of her intent to sue the district said the boy who shot Zwerner had constantly cursed at staff and teachers, tried to whip students with his belt and once choked another teacher “until she couldn’t breathe.”

Two days before the shooting, the boy allegedly “slammed” Zwerner’s cellphone and broke it, leading to a one-day suspension. When the boy returned to her class the next day, he pulled his mother’s 9mm handgun out of his pocket and shot her, the legal notice said.

The Newport News School board fired its superintendent in the wake of the shooting. Ebony Parker, an assistant principal who was a focus in Zwerner’s intent to sue notice, resigned.

Newport News’ top prosecutor said earlier this month that he would not seek charges against the 6year-old because the child lacked the competency to understand the legal system and what a charge means.