Following the shocking school shooting of a first-grade teacher by her six-year-old student in Newport News, Virginia, on January 6th, the teacher and her lawyer have announced plans to file a lawsuit against school administrators, the district, and others.

Twenty-five-year-old Abigail Zwerner was shot in her classroom at Richneck Elementary School after her six-year-old student fired one round at her. The bullet entered and passed through her hand, striking her in the chest. Even more shocking than the shooting event were the scathing allegations made by Zwerner after details about the incident began to surface.

In a press conference held by Zwerner's lawyer announcing news of the lawsuit, an inexplicable failure of school leadership led to what has been described as an entirely preventable situation. Zwerner’s lawyer, Diane Toscano, shared in the press conference last week that the event should have never happened, "It was preventable, and thank God Abby is alive. But had the school administrators acted in the interest of their teachers and their students, Abby would not have sustained a gunshot wound to the chest."

Toscano unveiled a timeline of events that shed light on multiple failures by the school administration. According to Toscano, the school administration was alerted at least four times that the student likely had a gun with him, yet they failed to act.

A detailed timeline of events shows that at around 11:15 to 11:30, Zwerner approached a school administrator and told them that the six-year-old student had threatened to beat up another child. Despite this, the six-year-old was not removed from the classroom.

Again at 12:30, a different teacher approached the school administration and told them that she believed the six-year-old had a gun on him. The teacher searched the child’s backpack but did not find one. The teacher confided in school administration that the six-year-old had likely concealed the gun in his pocket. The school administration allegedly responded by saying that the boy had little pockets.

At around 1:00 p.m., another teacher approached the school administration and alerted them that another student was crying and scared because the six-year-old shooter had shown him the gun during recess. The six-year-old also threatened to shoot the child if he told anyone.

A fourth school staff member approached the administration asking to search the child but was denied. According to Toscano, the administration allegedly said they should wait the situation out because the school day was almost over. Roughly an hour after the fourth teacher alerted the administration, Zwerner was shot in her classroom.

While the lawsuit will go after school administrators and the district, it's not clear if the parents of the child will also be named as defendants in the lawsuit. The parents of the six-year-old shooter shared a statement through their lawyer, James Ellenson, reiterating their well-wishes for the teacher and the school community. "On behalf of the family of the child, we continue to pray for Ms. Zwerner and wish her a complete and full recovery. Our hearts go out to all involved," Ellenson shared.

Following the investigation into the shooting, the school administrators have been relieved of their duties, and the extended learning supervisor, Karen Lynch, has been placed as acting administrator as students prepare to return to class on January 30th.

Additionally, the superintendent of Newport News Public Schools, George Parker III, has been relieved of his duties after a 5-1 vote by the school board. The school board’s chair Lisa Surles-Law shared of his dismissal, "Parker is a capable division leader who has served Newport News for nearly five years through some extremely challenging circumstances," adding, "This decision is based on the future trajectory and needs of our school division."

Since the incident, there have been mounting questions and concerns regarding the administration's response and the overall circumstances that enabled a six-year-old to bring a gun to school and possess it throughout the day.

The parents of the six-year-old shooter have also been under criticism. Reports indicate that the gun belonged to the child’s mother and that the mother had legally purchased the firearm. While it's not clear how the six-year-old was able to get a hold of his mother’s gun, the gun allegedly had a trigger lock, a mechanism that secures a firearm either via a push button key, a combination, or a key that allows access to the firearm. If a trigger lock was in place, it's unclear how the child was able to undo such restrictions.

Virginia is one of a handful of states that has strict regulations regarding the safe storage of firearms. According to the Code of Virginia § 18.2-56.2, it is illegal for an individual to have a loaded and unsecured firearm stored in a reckless manner that could harm children under the age of 14. Violations of this law result in a Class one misdemeanor. While it's unlikely that the shooter will face any charges for his actions because of his age, it's unclear whether his parents, specifically his mother, could be held liable for failing to secure her firearm.