Police urge gun safety after Newport News boy, 5, is killed

NEWPORT NEWS

No charges have been filed and there may be none in the death of a 5-year-old boy who was shot and killed Wednesday night in the Stuart Garden complex, police said.

“At this point, there is no evidence to indicate that this incident was anything other than an accident,” Holly Tepper, a police spokeswoman, said Thursday afternoon. “And, at this point, there are no charges against anyone.”

Police were called to an apartment in the 1300 block of Garden Drive at 8:05 p.m. Wednesday. When officers arrived, they found Demonte Terrell Ellis dead.

Ellis had been playing with his 7-year-old brother, Tepper said, when the boys apparently found the gun in a closet. She said the weapon, one of two in the residence, had been hidden.

“The guns were both in mom and dad’s upstairs bedroom,” Tepper said. “That is where Dante was found” after he was shot.

“Both guns were concealed in the closed closet, but they were not secured,” Tepper said. “There was supposedly a lot of stuff in the closet.”

Only one of the two weapons was actually found by the boys, she said. A single shot was fired from it.

“We’re not releasing who actually pulled the trigger,” Tepper said. Police also are not releasing information about the type of weapon.

“A lot of people think that if you hide your weapons, that they are going to be safe,” Tepper said. But that is not always enough. “Not even locking them away” can always keep them out of a curious child’s hands."

Tepper said previously that the boy’s mother had left the residence to go to a store. One of three teenage girls who were downstairs had been given charge of keeping an eye on all the youths in the residence.

After police finish their investigation, Tepper said the case will be sent to the commonwealth attorney’s office for a final determination on whether any charges should be filed.

There had been some confusion about the victim’s age in the hours after the shooting. Ellis was initially said to be 5 years old, then police said he was 6. On Thursday, Tepper said police had confirmed that he was 5.

The discrepancy apparently came in part because he died just a week shy of his birthday. Ellis would have turned 6 Wednesday.

Ellis had attended kindergarten at Magruder Elementary School.

“It’s just a tragic loss,” said Michelle Morgan Price, a school system spokeswoman. She said the school’s principal and a counselor “have been to see the family and will be assisting them in any way they can.”

Seven counselors, one of them a psychologist, also were on hand at the school on Thursday, Price said, to assist anyone who needed to talk about the incident.

Several went to Ellis’ classroom to speak with his classmates as a group and make certain they understood that additional help was available on an individual basis, if desired.

Although Price had no numbers, she said the counselors had been busy Thursday and spoke with many students.

“They set up in several different places in the school where students and staff could come to talk to them,” Price said.

Some of the counselors will be on hand again Friday and a letter was sent home to all parents letting them know that extra counseling services will continue to be available at the school in the wake of the incident.

The school, which is only a short distance from the Ellis home, is also working with a neighborhood church, Ivy Baptist, to assist the family. A memorial fund has been established in the boy’s name, Price said.

Donations may be made at any branch of Wachovia Bank.

Police hope that this incident will spur residents who have guns in their homes to make certain they are safely and securely stored.

“Children are very ingenious," Tepper said. "Unfortunately, they can get into things very easily. They can find things and they are very curious, especially with things that are kind of taboo.”

Gun owners who have children at home or who visit should “take that extra step,” Tepper said, “whether you unload the weapon and put the magazine or the bullets in a totally separate area or you buy gunlocks to secure your weapons.”

She said police provide gunlocks for free to anyone who needs them. They can usually be obtained at the department’s Community Education & Outreach Center at 10188 Warwick Boulevard in Hilton Village or at any precinct.

Tepper recommended calling the department’s Community Programs Office at (757) 928-4287 to find out where locks are available and the hours when they can be picked up.

Sgt. William Beigel, who is in charge of crime prevention for Norfolk police, said a small safe is another good option to keep children away from a gun.

He said his department doesn’t get many requests for gunlocks.

“We have locks,” he said. “If somebody requests one, we’d be more than happy to give it to them.”

Some other police agencies in Hampton Roads periodically offer gunlocks for free to people who legally own guns. For more information:

In Norfolk, call the Crime Prevention Unit at 664-6901.

In Virginia Beach, go to the Crime Prevention Office in Building 15 at the Municipal Center.

In Portsmouth, call 393-8257 and press 0 for information.

In Hampton, call the Community Relations Unit at 727-6574.

The National Rifle association promotes safe storage and handling of weapons through its Eddie Eagle GunSafe Program program, which is aimed at children in pre-K through third grade.

It focuses on four key steps for a child to take if they find a gun: “Stop. Don’t touch. Leave the area. Tell an adult.”

The initial steps of "Stop" and "Don't Touch" are the most important, the NRA says on its web site. “To counter the natural impulse to touch a gun, it is imperative that you impress these steps of the safety message upon your child.”

In today's society, where adult supervision is not always possible, the direction to "Leave the Area" is also essential, the NRA says.

"Tell an Adult" emphasizes that children should seek a trustworthy adult, neighbor, relative or teacher if a parent or guardian is not available.

For more information on the Eddie Eagle program, go to: www.nrahq.org/safety/eddie/ or call (800) 231-0752.

Staff writer Patrick Wilson contributed to this story.

Steve Stone, (757) 446-2309, steve.stone@pilotonline.com