Newport News, Virginia - The case of Abby Zwerner, the teacher who was shot and seriously wounded by her six-year-old student in 2023, has headed to trial, with Zwerner seeking $40 million over the incident.

The six-year-old was in first grade at Richneck Elementary School when he decided to bring his mother's gun to school.

When two of the boy's classmates noticed the outline of a firearm in his backpack, they reportedly told Amy Kovac, a school employee, immediately, as reported by ABC News.

Kovac shared her concerns with the school's assistant principal, Ebony Parker, but no action was taken, according to Zwerner's lawyers.

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Zwerner later alerted Kovac that she saw JT remove something from his bag and put it in his pocket, and when Kovac searched the boy's bag, there was no gun. Kovac reported this to Parker, but again, nothing was done.

Towards the end of the school day, shots were heard coming from Zwerner's classroom. Kovac ran to the room from which the children fled, and she found Zwerner bleeding on the floor as the boy held the gun in his hand.

Zwerner's lawyers argue the crime could have been prevented, and the teacher has sued the assistant principal in a civil suit for $40 million in damages. Parker also faces eight counts of felony child neglect, representing each of the bullets in JT's gun.

JT's mother, Deja Taylor, also had to answer for her actions in court. According to ABC News, the student brought the gun from home.

As it was not adequately secured, Taylor was sentenced to two years in prison for child neglect in connection with the shooting, which she is still serving.

The teacher had to undergo several surgeries after the attack, a day that is deeply etched in her memory.

"I went through something very traumatic. I'm trying to still deal with it the best that I can," Zwerner, who still has a bullet lodged in her chest, admitted in an interview with WVEC last year.

To this day, she suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and depression, and she isn't sure she'll ever be able to teach again.

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"It was in my career that I went to college for, that I worked hard to get, and I loved it," she said.

"And the thought never crossed my mind that I was going to be shot by a 6-year-old in my classroom.

"I feel like it's just been taken from me, it's been stripped of me."