Minnesota Dad Goes to Trial for Manslaughter and Child Endangerment

Kao Xiong, the father of 2-year-old Neegnco Xiong, faces charges of manslaughter and child endangerment in the shooting by his 4-year-old son.  

The Star Tribune reports

When we posted this story before my only observation was that it took so long to charge the responsible person.  Now something else of interest has come up.

Xiong, 31, was charged with second-degree manslaughter and child endangerment, both felonies, three weeks after his 2-year-old son, Neegnco Xiong, was killed on Dec. 5. 

Charges say Xiong had eight guns in the two-bedroom home at the time the 4-year-old was playing with the gun, which had been stashed between the bed and the mattress in his bedroom. 

Xiong and his wife were on the first floor of the home preparing lunch when the gun went off. They found Neegnco on the upstairs bed and his 4-year-old brother under the bed. A 5-year-old son was at kindergarten at the time, while a 1-year-old was asleep in the children’s bedroom.

Police said the safety device was missing from the loaded semi-automatic pistol used in the shooting.

Xiong, a vocational rehabilitation counselor in St. Paul, had a permit to carry the firearm, but he said he could not take the gun to work, so he tucked it into the bed.

You spotted it too, didn't you? Although not your typical looking gun nut, Mr. Xiong had a concealed carry permit. I sure hope someone's keeping track of these guys, they're a lot more dangerous than we first tought.

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