Opening up about the incident which resulted in the paralysis of her seven-year-old boy, Gillian said: "I can never accept that Sean was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He's a child. He was outside his house playing with his friends."
Gillian's little boy is now confined to a wheelchair following the shooting which was said to have stemmed from a dispute between adult gangs.
Devastated to find her son lying outside his home being tended to by his older brother, Shane, Gillian initially thought her little boy had been hit by a pellet gun.
Recalling the horrifying moment last summer, Gillian said: "Sean was just laying there. He'd got his first pair of glasses a few months earlier and I had him plagued about taking care of them because they'd been expensive. He was all worried about them and saying over and over, 'Did I break my glasses?'"
Sean, who was hit with a bullet from a handgun, has returned to primary school and attends the Central Remedial Clinic for weekly therapy sessions.
Commenting on the impact Sean's devastating injuries could have on the little boy, Gilian said: "I think the summer is going to be his big test. When we start getting the bright evenings and all his friends are busy doing everyday things, when we can hear them playing football ont he green. He was good at football and he loved it."
Sean's mum is determined the incident won't define her son however, saying: "I want him to be as independent as possible."
