WABASHA, Minn. — A Rochester man, Raymond T. Duque, was sentenced to 2-1/2 years in prison for child endangerment in a case in which a child found a shotgun in a van and shot a 6-year-old playmate accidentally. The boy survived the June 2024 incident, which was in Elgin in western Wabasha County. The boy’s injuries: A gunshot wound to his right hip and a barrel burn to the left forearm. Duque, age 42, was charged with negligent storage of a firearm that permitted child access. Duque also was charged with possession of a firearm despite a court order related to earlier sexual misconduct. Judge Christopher Neisen issued the sentence. A woman charged in the case, Nicole McGee, 34, the boy’s mother, awaits sentencing. The criminal complaint in the shooting laid out these details:
> Duque and McGee arrived at Duque’s sister’s home in Elgin for dinner and to spend the night. They left the van unlocked and told the children to go play in a nearby park.
> Unbeknown to Duque and McGee, two children — a 9-year-old girl and an 8-year-old boy — entered the van. The 6-year-old boy followed them in.
> As Duque and McGee were eating inside the house, they heard a loud pop. The girl ran into house and said something was wrong with the 6-year-old.
> McGee went to the van and found the boy in the front seat with a gunshot wound.
> The firearm, a 12-gauge shotgun, had been between the driver’s seat and the center console. Duque told police the gun was not his and had been put in his vehicle by a friend. He claimed he did not load the gun, that it was loaded when it was given to him.
> McGee had different version. She told deputies tyat the gun was Duque’s and had “always been there.” Asked if the kids knew the gun was in the vehicle she was sure they did.
Earlier: Dad held on $100,000 bail for shotgun incident
Earlier: Parental negligence charged in Elgin child shooting
Duque. Lived in Elgin, population 150, at the time.