Kid was shooting in the direction of the road, and a house. Even if there was a "legitimate" target involved, there should be a way to catch / smother any misses or ricochets. So, IMO, and from the limited info in this article, kid wasn't being safe.
What was the Mom thinking? When WBill Jr. is shooting, I don't let him out of my sight, even "just for a second". Sure, he'd likely be fine, but mistakes happen.
Finally, the gun needs to be taken away from the kid, IMO, for reasons #1 and #2. If I did something like this at his age, I'd have lost the gun (likely for good) and wouldn't be able to sit down for a week, to boot.
But a felony charge? Methinks that the prosecutor is looking to see his name in the paper.
This is one more reaction to anti-gun legislation — and yes, the prosecutor wants to make a name — you know - for public safety...soon there will be Directive 10-289