NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) — Amy Kovac, a reading specialist at Richneck Elementary School, said she rushed inside Abby Zwerner’s classroom when she heard a gunshot.
Kovac sat down with 10 On Your Side’s Lauryn Moss almost a year after the tragedy. This is the first time she has spoken with the local media about what happened. Police said a 6-year-old student shot Zwerner, his first-grade teacher.
Kovac said she was helping with make-up state testing.
“I was in the room testing when we walked down the hall to turn our paperwork in…That is where we heard the shot go off,” she said.
She went toward the sound.
“I saw the door open, the kids running across, and I walked in. Abby was on my side, and I saw blood on her, and he (the student) was standing there. The gun was down and I went straight to him.”
She recognized him. This student is someone she worked one-on-one with every morning. Kovac wrapped her arms around him and called 911.
“I was just like, this is Richneck. A teacher’s been shot, and we need the police,” she said.
Kovac said she kept calm while waiting for the police.
“It felt like an eternity,” Kovac said.
She said the little boy was talking about what he did.
“Him saying that he shot her and took the gun and put it in his bag the night before; all that. You know, he said that while we were sitting there waiting,” she said.
Authorities came in and took the 6-year-old into custody. Kovac told police everything.
She said the little boy had a modified schedule. It included working with her one-on-one.
“I had one student [the six-year-old] for a half hour or 40 minutes, just depending on what we did that day… Because of his actions and things, the administrative team — I had no input — put him on a modified schedule since I was part of the modified schedule.”
The schedule included his parents coming into the class with him every day.
“That was one of the requirements that our administration, I guess, had asked. And I want to say his parents did do what school asked,” Kovac said.
Kovac said when he was with her they would do hands-on activities. She recalled him being good with her.
“He learned a lot. He was able to learn and recognize his name. He was able to recognize the letters in the alphabet. He was learning. You know, I felt like I had a really good relationship with him,” she said. “He enjoyed coming every time. Screaming ‘Ms. Kovac’ running down the hall, you know, to see me or hug me.”
In the middle of the school year, there was a change in the schedule.
“Right before Christmas break, the team, that student success team, which I was a facilitator, but mom was there, the homeroom teacher was there, our AP (assistant principal) was present. It was decided that we were going to change his modified hours because he was, you know, making gains and success,” she said.
Kovac said he even expressed interest in learning math.
“We changed that schedule to 10:30 to 2:30 and without mom support, you know, as a trial,” she said.
This change caused behavioral issues.
“He did break the teacher’s phone that week,” she said. “He did get suspended for that action and then he was out on Thursday.”
On Friday, the day of the shooting, Kovac said Zwerner told school staff the 6-year-old wasn’t acting right.
“His teacher [Zwerner] came into the AP’s office and was like, I just want to let you know he’s off today… So, when I left to go get lunch, because I was going to test again at one, their class was walking down the hall and he sees me,” Kovac said.
She recalls him telling her “I love you.” Kovac said she told him to make good choices and make her proud.
That’s when she recalls two little girls coming out.
“By the time I get down to the hall, two little girls come out and it was like he’s saying he has this object in his book bag. So, of course, I walked right in, and I was like, Give me that bag,” Kovac said.
She said he wasn’t letting her look in the bag, which wasn’t normal.
Extended interview with Amy Kovac discussing the school shooting:
“Usually, he’s throwing the bag and wants you to carry the bag, you know, but he was different. He didn’t want that. I was like, ‘Okay, you know, what’s going on?.’ He was like, people are being mean to my friend. I was like…’they can tell the teacher and you worry about yourself,'” Kovac said.
Kovac told 10 On Your Side she asked Zwerner to let her know when they went to recess.
That’s when she looked into the bag.
“I go check the bag. There was nothing in the bag, like his math book was in the bag, a puzzle I’d given him before Christmas was in the bag, a little toy token and the calculator,” she said.
Kovac said Zwerner alerted her that he took something out of the bag and took it with him outside.
Kovac wasn’t able to check him because she had to go back to make-up testing, but she said others tried to look.
“The first-grade teacher and the counselor all tried to intervene,” she said.
After she finished testing, that’s when the tragedy happened.
“It was just a sad day. It’s a sad day. It’s a sad day to remember I went to the office to see Abby. She had passed out, you know, and I just put my hands on her and said I was praying for you,” Kovac said.
She said all around it’s upsetting.
“It’s, it’s sad. It’s sad for him. It’s sad for the parents and you know, we don’t know what that home life is like. It’s sad for the building. The children in that room were really sad for Abby. Her life has changed… I wish it never happened,” she said. “I just pray that our school system, our country, our world learns from this — like anything can happen.”
