ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) – A St. Paul man faces up to five years in prison after his 2-year-old son was shot in the head by a sibling early last month, authorities say.
Court documents filed Thursday say that Lue Xiong, 43, faces one count of child endangerment stemming from an incident that occurred on Aug. 2 at his home on the 1300 block of Beech Street. On that day, his son, identified previously as Jacob Xiong, suffered a gunshot wound to the head after his 9-year-old brother found a handgun in his parent’s bedroom and pulled the trigger.
Gillette Children’s Hospital said it cannot release any information on the toddler’s condition.
When at the hospital the day of the incident, Lue Xiong told police he had two handguns and two hunting rifles, which he legally owned. He kept one handgun, a 9 mm Luger, loaded in his nightstand. He said the nightstand has a lock, but it doesn’t work. He admitted to police, the complaint said, that what happened was his fault and that he took full responsibility for what happened.
If convicted of the charge, Xiong faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine.
Xiong is slated to appear in court on Sept. 28.
