Detroit father charged in shooting of 14-year-old son

A Detroit man has been charged with child abuse in the non-fatal shooting of his 14-year-old son, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said.

Kong Kue, 36, is facing a charge of second-degree child abuse in connection with the crime, officials said. If convicted, Kue could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison. He is scheduled to appear in 36th District Court for a hearing Tuesday.

At Kue's arraignment Tuesday morning, magistrate Millicent Sherman set his bond at $25,000/10 percent, the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office announced. Kue's probable cause conference was set for April 4 at 8:30 a.m. and his preliminary exam is scheduled for April 10 at 9 a.m., both before Judge Lydia Nance Adams.

The shooting was one of three that happened since last Saturday during which three Metro Detroit youths under the ages of 18 were shot, and one killed, with guns they were easily able to access.

"I have said this before and will say it again and again, these tragedies are absolutely 100 percent preventable," Worthy said in a statement. "We have to do better and protect our children.”

Police said Kue's son was shot at about 7 p.m. last Monday by his 10-year-old brother at their family's home in the 13700 block of Pfent near East Seven Mile and Schoenherr in Detroit.

Officials believe the boys were playing with the loaded shotgun in Kue's unlocked bedroom. The younger boy accidentally pulled the trigger and his brother was shot in the abdomen, police said.

The 14-year-old was taken to a hospital for treatment and continues to recover, the prosecutor's office said. Police arrested Kue after the shooting.

In the second incident, which happened at 9:50 a.m. Saturday on the 5500 block of the John C. Lodge Service Drive, a 9-year-old boy found a gun in his mother’s purse and shot himself in the hand, Detroit police said.

The boy’s mother was on the first floor of the home with two other children when the boy, who was upstairs, found and fired the gun, officials said.

Worthy's office said Monday it has received a request for an arrest warrant in connection to the shooting and is reviewing it.

A week before that, a 14-year-old Orion Township boy was shot in the head by another teen, according to the Oakland County Sheriff's Office. The shooting happened at 11:14 p.m. at a home in the 100 block of Wall Street in Pontiac.

Police said the suspect and the victim are friends, and investigators are trying to determine if the gun, a .32 caliber handgun, was discharged accidentally.