A six-year-old who shot his teacher is said to have attacked another

Photo of the school sign.

A six-year-old child who shot and killed a teacher at a Virginia school allegedly once choked another teacher “until she could not breathe,” according to a legal filing filed by the injured teacher.

The child’s alleged past behavioral problems surfaced in a call for action sent by her attorney.

Abby Zwerner, 25, plans to sue the Newport News School District for alleged negligence.

She is recovering after being shot at Richneck Elementary on January 6th.

The lawsuit was requested by the Associated Press news agency through a public record.

It outlines allegations of previous behavioral problems the child is said to have had at school, including swearing at staff and teachers, attempting to whip students with his belt and choking a teacher.

During the week of the shooting, the boy is said to have “slammed” Ms. Zwerner’s phone and, according to the damage report, broke it.

He was suspended for a day and shot Ms. Zwerner dead in her classroom on the day he returned to school. Police have described the shooting as “premeditious”.

Lawyers for Ms Zwerner have previously said school leaders were warned three times that the boy may have had a gun on the day of the shooting.

The boy’s backpack was searched but no weapon was found. No further action was taken.

“It’s a miracle more people weren’t harmed,” attorney Diane Toscano wrote in the statement.

“The shooter spent his entire recess with a gun in his pocket, a gun loaded and ready to fire…while many first years were playing.”

In a public statement last month, the child’s family said the boy has an “acute disability.” They said the boy participated in a care plan at school related to his disability, which usually saw one of his parents walk him to school every day. During the week of filming, he was unaccompanied for the first time.

The school’s superintendent lost his job amid the aftermath of the incident and the deputy principal resigned.

The teacher involved in the alleged choking described in the lawsuit confirmed the incident to the Associated Press but asked not to be named. She said in 2021 the boy came up behind her, wrapped his forearms around her neck and pulled her backwards.

She said she informed the school administration about the incident, but didn’t get the kind of response she was hoping for.

The boy was later transferred to another school.

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