‘I Thought I Had Died’: Virginia Teacher Shot by 6-Year-Old Student Speaks Out in Emotional Interview

NBC’s Savannah Guthrie held an intense interview with Abigail Zwerner, the 25-year-old Richneck Elementary School teacher whose story shocked the country earlier this year.

Zwerner was injured back in January when a 6-year-old first grader brought a gun to school and shot her in the classroom after allegedly making threats toward other students. The story drew mass media attention in January, and in her first interview since the shooting, Zwerner spoke to Guthrie about her injuries, her recovery, and her recollections from that day.

Zwerner said she tries to maintain a positive outlook while attempting to cope with the lasting pain and trauma from the shooting. After describing the injuries she sustained to her arm and her chest, Zwerner talked about what happened before the shooting took place.

“The morning it [happened it] felt like just a regular school day, but I started hearing things, and things started happening that made my fear grow,” she said. “As the day went on, it grew more. My fear grew more. I remember him pointing the gun at me. I remember the look on his face. I remember the gun going off. I remember feeling something. It was a pretty scary day.”

Zwerner spoke of how terrified she was at the time, even as her first thought was to get her kids out of the classroom. Knowing that she had been shot, Zwerner recalled “that was pretty shocking itself. but I just wanted to get my babies out of there.”

Asked what happened next, Zwerner said she went to go get help for herself, though her lung had collapsed and she found herself struggling to breathe.

“My vision started going out. I remember I went to the office, and I just passed out,” Zwerner said. “I thought I had died.”

“There’s some things that I’ll never forget,” she went on. “I just will never forget the look on his face that he gave me while he pointed the gun directly at me. That’s something that I will never forget. It’s changed me. It’s changed my life.”

Zwerner said she still has nightmares about the shooting, and is not sure if the shock will ever go away. She and her lawyer also talked about their intent to sue the school district for not doing more to prevent the shooting despite the warning signs they received.

Watch above via NBC.