(ReclaimingAmerica.net) – Providing a constant reminder of the horrifying attack she survived, Abigail Zwerner, the teacher shot by her 6-year-old student, still has a bullet lodged in her chest, and she remains haunted by the look on the kid’s face when he pulled the trigger.
On January 6, 2023, Zwerner, a teacher at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia, was shot and wounded by the young boy who used his mother’s gun.
“I remember him pointing the gun at me, I remember the look on his face, I remember the gun going off,” the 25-year-old woman told the NBC News program “Today.”
“There’s some things that I’ll never forget. And I just will never forget the look on his face that he gave me while he pointed the gun directly at me,” Zwerner added.
“That’s something that I will never forget. It’s changed me. It’s changed my life,” she stated further.
The teacher believes that she survived the shooting only thanks to the bullet going through her hand before reaching her chest and lung.
She revealed that part of the bullet fired by the first-grader remains lodged in her chest.
“I think it will always be there,” Zwerner said, as cited by The New York Post.
“At first, it really shook me up … seeing an open wound on your body and remembering how you got it is pretty traumatizing,” she continued.
She also recalled thinking that she “had died” after she managed to lead the rest of her students to safety.
The elementary school teacher also disclosed that she had had new surgery on her left hand because of the damage the shot caused.
The bullet went through her middle bone and injured her thumb and index finger before hitting her chest.
Zwerner said the day before he brought the 9mm gun into school and shot his teacher, the 6-year-old student had smashed her phone.
The teacher, who is suing the school district, said “yes” when asked if the school administrators should have acted to prevent the incident.
After the shooting, it was revealed that a teacher had warned school officials the child had brought a gun in his backpack and had shown it to another student.
The school’s principal has been ousted over the administrators’ failure to act to prevent the incident.
“There are multiple people responsible for those failures,” Zwerner attorney Diane Toscano told the NBC News program.
The teacher also disclosed that on some days, it is hard for her to even “get out of bed.” Yet, she tries to “stay positive.”
“I’ve been doing okay. You know, it’s been challenging. I’ve gone through a lot of obstacles and challenges,” Zwerner added, saying public support is helping her a great deal.
“I’m just so thankful. Their messages, their cards, their support has not gone unnoticed,” the young teacher said.
