Minnesota father gets probation for leaving loaded gun accessible

A Minnesota father left a gun loaded and accessible for his 9 year old to find last August. His 2 year old son was shot and injured as a result. Now he has received a probation sentence for allowing access to a gun to his child. From an article:

Lue Xiong has a gun safety message for all to hear: Don't leave loaded guns where kids can get them.

He had done exactly that, and his 2-year-old son nearly died of a gunshot to the head on Aug. 2.

The toddler's 9-year-old brother found a gun in a file cabinet drawer in his parents' bedroom, pointed it at the boy's head and pulled the trigger in the family's home in the 1300 block of Beech Street in St. Paul.

The boy's 16-year-old sister had been baby-sitting that day but was sleeping when the shooting happened. The 9-year-old didn't know the gun was loaded, according to a criminal complaint.

Thursday, the remorseful father went to court and received probation for a negligent storage of a loaded firearm where a child can access it, which is a gross misdemeanor.

Terms of his two years on probation include speaking to the public about gun safety. He'll do so under the monitoring of the Neighborhood Justice Center, a nonprofit, community-based legal service. The Ramsey County attorney's office will be keeping tabs, too.

The toddler is now in physical therapy and doing well in his recovery, officials said.

Xiong, 43, has completed a gun safety course and intends to have his family members take a gun safety course as well, said Dennis Gerhardstein, a spokesman for the Ramsey County attorney's office,

He said Xiong is the sole breadwinner for his family, which is one reason he was placed on probation, along with his willingness to do community service through outreach to promote gun safety,...

Having loaded guns around the home can lead to tragedies such as this one. Every gun in the hands of a child must first pass through the hands of an adult.