'Her light has been dimmed:' Abby Zwerner's twin sister gives emotional testimony on day 3 of Richneck lawsuit

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Witnesses providing testimony on Wednesday in the trial of the civil lawsuit filed by Abigail Zwerner — the former Richneck Elementary School teacher shot by her 6-year-old student on Jan. 6, 2023 — included first responders and Zwerner's twin sister, Hannah.

Former Assistant Principal Ebony Parker is the sole defendant remaining in the lawsuit, which claims negligence in preventing the incident. Zwerner's legal team, led by Diane Toscano, will have to prove that the actions or inaction of Dr. Parker — who reportedly was aware that the student may have had a gun — led to Zwerner's shooting. Counsel for NNPS and Parker are seeking to prove that the tragedy was unavoidable.

Day 3 of trial: Zwerner's twin testifies; First responders and medical professionals describe shooting aftermath

Hannah Zwerner was called to the stand by her twin sister's legal team on Wednesday. When asked about how her sister has changed since the shooting, Hannah testified that her sister is more reclusive now, adding that it’s hard to get her to go out and do things.

"She's just not the person that she was. I feel like she's kind of lost her sense of direction in a way. She doesn't want to go out anymore. I don't talk to her as much as we used to," said Hannah Zwerner, later adding, "She doesn't want to talk about things. She doesn't share them with us."

Full testimony: Abby Zwerner's twin says her sister's "light has dimmed" since Richneck shooting

During cross examination, the defense team for Parker asked: “You talk about that your sister doesn't want to go anywhere. Have you given your sister any gifts of concert tickets?” Hannah answered that she “drained her bank account” to take her to a Taylor Swift concert, noting that “it was not without its own challenges.” The defense responded, “That’s a pretty large crowd.”

Earlier on Wednesday, a Newport News police officer who responded to the scene in Zwerner's classroom took the stand. Bodycam footage from the officer was briefly shown. Due to graphic nature of the video, we will not show it to our viewers, but it depicts first responders working to save Zwerner's life after she was shot.

Thomas Blyth, a retired corporal with the Newport News Sheriff's Office, also responded to the shooting. He testified about how long it took for law enforcement to be let into the school.

"We immediately went to the front door of the school, hit the buzzer, knocked on the doors, couldn't get in. Didn't see anybody moving around, not what we expected to be responding to a situation like this," noted Blyth. "It seemed like an eternity for us. It was probably about a minute of banging on the door til, I think, a janitor or a security person opened the door for us."

Another unexpected factor, Blyth stated, was the shooter's age: "We were quite taken aback. We didn't expect to see so young of a suspect."

As Blyth testified that he found the gun on the floor, pictures of Zwerner's classroom and the weapon were shown in the courtroom.

Newport News Sheriff's Office

Testimony was also provided by Dr. Romney Andersen, who treated Zwerner's hand at Riverside Regional Medical Center. As News 3 has reported, when Zwerner was shot, the bullet passed through her hand, pierced her chest and caused significant injuries, including a collapsed lung.

In court, Zwerner stood up for a demonstration as Dr. Andersen showed jurors the lasting impacts of the injury on her left hand. During a strength test, he said it felt like her left hand had less than half the strength of her right hand.

Watch: Doctor explains impact of Zwerner's hand injury to jurors

When Zwerner's legal team asked Dr. Andersen about the possibility of her left hand's range of motion or strength significantly improving, he responded: "She may make some slight improvements, but I don't think she's gonna make drastic improvements and have her hand be like the other hand."

Day 2 recap: Emotional testimony from Zwerner's mother and colleagues

Wednesday marks the second day of testimony in the trial, which started Monday with jury selection. The first day of testimony on Tuesday was an emotional one, with witnesses including Zwerner's mother and colleagues who were at Richneck on the day of the shooting.

Watch related: Zwerner's mom Julie takes the stand

Amy Kovac, a reading specialist at Richneck, took the stand and described hearing the gunshot coming from Zwerner's classroom, then entering the room and seeing blood on Zwerner's leg.

She said she then walked to the shooter, who was referred to only as "JT" in the court, and attempted to subdue him.

"He was standing there with his legs kind of spread open, arms crossed and cocky, and when I got to him, I didn't say anything," Kovac said. "I took his wrist because I knew he shot with his left hand. I walked to Abby's desk where her phone was. I put him in between my legs, put my arms around him."

The final testimony on Tuesday was delivered by Zwerner's mother, Julie, who told the court her daughter loved teaching and was becoming a great educator before her career was cut short by the bullet that pierced her hand and went into her chest.

Watch related: Trauma surgeon describes Zwerner's injuries from Richneck shooting

A key moment on Tuesday was when Dr. Nina Farrish, the director of human resources for Newport News Public Schools, took the stand. She testified that Parker admitted to her two or three days after the shooting that it was reported around 12:20 p.m. the student had a gun in his backpack. That was more than 90 minutes before the shooting.

Zwerner is expected to testify later this week as her team continues to call witnesses to the stand.

Richneck Shooting

Day 2 of Abby Zwerner's $40M Richneck trial wraps with Zwerner's mom testifying

Kelsey Jones