Abby Zwerner, a former school teacher in Virginia, testified on Thursday that she thought she had died when she was shot by her 6-year-old student in 2023.

"I thought I was dying. I thought I had died. I thought I was either on my way to heaven or in heaven, but then it all got black. And so, I then thought I wasn’t going there. And then my next memory is, I see two coworkers around me and I process that I’m hurt and they’re putting pressure on where I’m hurt," Zwerner said, recalling the day a bullet pierced through her hand and chest — where it remains lodged to this day.

The 28-year-old took the stand during the fourth day of a trial for the $40 million lawsuit she filed against the Newport News School Division and former assistant principal at Richneck Elementary School, Ebony Parker

See Full Page