Abby Zerna, a former first-grade teacher, delivered gripping testimony today, recounting the moment a six-year-old student shot her with a 9mm handgun in her classroom. “I thought I had died,” Zerna told the court. “I thought I was either on my way to heaven or in heaven, but then everything went black.”
“My next memory is, I see two co-workers around me, and I process that I’m hurt, and they’re putting pressure on where I’m hurt,” she continued.
Zerna described the surreal aftermath recalling her next memory of two co-workers standing over her as she realized she injured. Her emotional testimony came during the final stage of a civil trial, where she seeks $40 million, alleging a Newport News school administrator ignored multiple staff warnings about the boy possessing a gun that day. Body camera footage captured the chaotic scene following the attack.
The bullet struck Zerna’s hand before entering her chest, narrowly missing her heart. Defense attorneys argued the former assistant principal followed school protocol and bears no responsibility for the incident.
They also questioned the extent of Zerna’s injuries, noting she attended cosmetology school, which requires hand use, and enjoyed concerts, including a Taylor Swift performance.
“At this time, the court finds that there is sufficient and credible evidence that the defendant assumed the duty of care, breached that care in a grossly negligent manner, and that breach was the proximate cause of the plaintiff’s harm,” Newport News Circuit Court Judge Matthew Hoffman said. “That will be all for the jury to decide.”
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The defense will call witnesses Monday as this deeply emotional trial continues. Pierre Thomas reporting.
