A Minneapolis man was charged with two felony counts Thursday in connection with the accidental fatal shooting of his toddler son by a 4-year-old sibling who was playing with one of his father's eight guns.
The irresponsibility with which Kao Chongsua Xiong handled and stored his guns and ample ammunition in a houseful of children justified second-degree manslaughter and child endangerment charges, authorities said. Xiong's arrest on Thursday came more than three weeks after his son, 2-year-old Neegnco Xiong, was killed.
"It's hard to charge a case in which the defendant has already suffered probably the most serious tragic condition known to parenthood: the loss of a child," Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said. "And yet we have rules, and the rules about having locked guns and unloaded guns and safeties on guns and guns that aren't available to kids are good laws. And they've got to be enforced."
Xiong, 31, who remains in the Hennepin County jail, is expected to make his first court appearance Friday afternoon. The charges came less than two weeks after Lue Xiong of St. Paul was sentenced to two years' probation after his 2-year-old son suffered a gunshot wound as his 9-year-old brother played with his father's gun last August. Lue Xiong, who pleaded guilty to negligent storage of a loaded firearm within access of a child, stored a loaded gun in a file cabinet at home.
During a news conference Thursday announcing the charges against Kao Xiong, Assistant Police Chief Matt Clark said these accidents can be prevented by teaching kids what to do when they encounter a gun, "but also with the understanding that if you are a gun owner, you will secure your weapon."
According to charges, police determined that the semi-automatic pistol used in the shooting had seven live cartridges, with an extra magazine in the holster. The safety device was missing.
Guns throughout the home
In an interview earlier this month, Xiong, a vocational rehabilitation counselor at Goodwill/Easter Seals in St. Paul, said he thought the gun had been adequately hidden.