VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) – Joel Jones, the founder of Strong Arms Training Academy, is a local firearms instructor and this summer he’s targeting families in light of recent shooting incidents involving children.

“Instead of trying to say, hey, don’t mess with guns. And that child says, well I see a gun why can’t I mess with it? That curiosity. So we put them together at an adult level and a child level,” said Jones.

He’s calling it the “Summer of Safety”. The first of several free firearm education classes starts July 5 in Virginia Beach.

He says all you have to do is sign up and show up.

“There may be a lot of excuses but there are evening classes to try and remove the “I don’t have time “Do you have time for safety for your child? Do you have time to say hey this could save my child’s life, if not, another child’s life because- guess what? A lot of these incidental shootings happen at other homes,” said Jones.

10 On Your Side asked Jones about the Richneck shooting in Newport News where a 6-year-old student shot his teacher. A statement of facts filed in the case says neither a lock box, trigger lock nor key to a trigger lock was ever found at that student’s home.

“What type of training did the mother have to have prevented that? To have that child be able to get access. What did she talk to that child about when it comes to firearms? And has she assessed her child’s emotional level of preparedness to deal with a firearm.”

Jones says education is key and locking up your guns is the minimum.

“So right there, I lock it up, I might keep the key on my keychain, or I put it somewhere I can get to it, so the kids don’t know where it is. Believe it or not, kids know where these guns are,” explained Jones.

If you’re interested in signing up for a free gun safety class with your child please click here.