NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — James Ellenson is the attorney representing the mother of the boy accused in the Richneck Elementary shooting. He said the boy just turned 7 years old this month and is getting better.
"He's doing well. As you may have heard, his [great] grandfather has custody," Ellenson explained.
Newport News police said the child used his mother's 9mm handgun to shoot his teacher, Abby Zwerner, in January. The mother, Deja Taylor, currently faces felony child neglect charges in Newport News after the boy somehow got hold of her gun.
Since then, the great-grandfather, Calvin Taylor, has taken custody of the boy. Ellenson said the child started attending a different school with supervision.
"The [great] grandfather is really a standup guy. He's military and a no-nonsense kind of person," Ellenson said. "I think the young man has a future and I know the grandfather will enforce that he stays on the straight and narrow."
Ellenson said the child is getting the proper care he needs as child psychologists work with school administrators where the boy is enrolled. He called it a positive sign for what's to come for the boy's future.
"Therapy and counseling are ongoing," he explained. "Almost all interactions between the child and the mother, or anybody for that matter, are supervised by the grandfather or grandma."
As the child makes progress at home, investigators are still digging into the school's administrators.
In Zwerner's $40-million lawsuit, her attorneys claim the school's Assistant Principal Dr. Ebony Parker ignored vital warnings about the boy having a gun on him the day of the shooting. Parker resigned from her position shortly after the shooting.
Newport News Commonwealth's Attorney Howard Gwynn appointed a special grand jury to investigate school administrators' roles on the day of the shooting.
Ellenson said he believes, if the allegations are true, this event could have been prevented had different decisions been made.
"If in any of those times, there had been an intervention, I would have still probably been representing this child and his family, but the case would have been different," Ellenson said.
He said the child is a victim of the decisions made the day of the shooting. Ellenson added we could potentially learn more about the special grand jury's decision soon.
"It is my understanding that the special grand jury is still investigating the assistant principal and I've heard those indictments will come at some point this summer," Ellenson said.
Ellenson and Taylor told reporters she had the gun secured in the home the day of the shooting. However, recent court records reveal investigators did not find any gun locks or boxes inside the house while conducting a search warrant.
13News Now reached out to the Newport News Commonwealth's Attorney to learn more about the latest in the investigation, but we did not hear back.
We also reached out to Dr. Parker's attorney several times after confirming she is representing the former Assistant Principal, but she has yet to respond to our inquiries.