Two Minnesotans have been arrested in connection with the shooting last week of a 6-year-old boy in Wabasha County.
The county sheriff’s office said Raymond Tony Duque and Nicole Lynn McGee were arrested Tuesday following the shooting incident on June 25.
The sheriff’s office said a loaded shotgun was left unsecured in a vehicle with the 6-year-old and two other children.
The Post Bulletin reported that investigators said the shooting was “caused by another individual” and that one shot was fired.
The sheriff’s office has not explained how the shooting took place. Duque and McGee were each charged with three counts of child endangerment and negligent firearm storage, with Duque also charged with possession of a firearm with a conviction for a crime of violence.
Investigators said the boy remains hospitalized but his condition is unknown.
A criminal complaint says that Duque told investigators his family was spending the night at his sister’s home in Elgin when he heard a loud pop but thought the three children were at a park, according to the Post Bulletin.
A security camera showed the family van arriving and Duque and McGee exiting, then shortly going back to the van and leaving it unlocked. Thirty minutes later, a 9-year-old girl, an 8-year-old boy, and the 6-year-old boy entered the van. Less than a minute later, the two older children got out of the van and ran to the house.
According to the complaint, the girl said something was wrong with the younger boy. McGee went to the van and found the boy in the front seat with a gunshot wound.
Duque told investigators there was a 12-gauge shotgun between the driver’s seat and the center console, but it wasn’t his, according to the complaint. Duque said a friend, who was not identified in the complaint, put the gun into the van. He also said he did not load the weapon.
McGee told investigators that the three children were playing with the shotgun in the van. She said the weapon did belong to Duque.
“(McGee) couldn’t remember when the gun was put in the car,” the complaint said. “When asked if it was always there, she said ‘sometimes, yeah.’ When asked if the kids knew the gun was in the vehicle she replied, ‘I’m sure, I’m sure they know.’ When asked if it was (Duque’s) gun she said yes.”
The Post Bulletin said the boy was shot in the right hip, and he had a barrel burn on his left forearm.
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[Featured image: Inset: Raymond Tony Duque and Nicole Lynn McGee/Washaba County Sheriff’s Office]
