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Closing Arguments Today in Abby Zwerner’s $40 Million Negligence Trial Over 6-Year-Old’s Classroom Shooting

Jurors are set to weigh a case that could reshape how responsibility is assigned to school officials after campus shootings.

Overview

  • Zwerner alleges former assistant principal Ebony Parker ignored multiple staff warnings that a first-grader had a gun before the January 2023 shooting.
  • Defense experts testified Parker met professional standards, argued the incident was difficult to foresee, and emphasized that school safety is a shared responsibility.
  • The jury is expected to begin deliberations after today’s summations, with a verdict anticipated Thursday, Nov. 6.
  • Medical and psychiatric testimony detailed Zwerner’s lasting injuries, including a bullet that remains in her chest, multiple hand surgeries, and a PTSD diagnosis.
  • Parker faces a separate criminal trial on eight felony child-neglect counts to begin shortly after the civil case, and any civil payout would likely be covered by the school division’s insurance authority.