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The Canadian Press - ONLINE EDITION

Manitoba parents face drug, criminal negligence charges after boy, 5, shoots sis

By: The Canadian Press

Posted: 12/19/2011 8:38 AM | Last Modified: 12/19/2011 2:34 PM

DELORAINE, Man. - The parents of a five-year-old boy who shot his younger sister on a farm in Manitoba are facing several charges.

Dan Lachapelle, 33, and his 23-year-old wife haven't been formally charged, but RCMP say they will be facing counts of criminal negligence causing bodily harm and possession of drugs.

Lachapelle is also accused of careless use of a firearm.

The pending charges stem from Nov. 26 when RCMP officers were called to Lachapelle's rural property in southwestern Manitoba. They found a four-year-old girl who had been shot just below her kidney by her five-year-old brother.

At the time, Lachapelle said the shooting was a horrible accident, which could have been prevented by proper gun storage and a trigger lock.

"I am prepared to take full responsibility for not having my guns properly stored,'' he said in an interview with The Canadian Press. "This is something that very well could have been prevented. I know better. I took hunter safety and I just should have had at least trigger locks on them."

The gun had been stored in an unlocked closet along with winter coats.

Lachapelle said his son got a hold of the gun and wanted to go outside to shoot it. His mother said no and took the gun into the bedroom where she laid it down so she could change another child's diaper, he said.

While the mother tended to the baby, Lachapelle said, his son managed to load the gun with a bullet and shot through a door. His four-year-old sister was on the other side.

The little girl underwent surgery and is recovering.

The shooting came three weeks after a nine-year-old boy was accidentally shot and killed by his 14-year-old brother on the Sagkeeng reserve in Manitoba. RCMP haven't announced if charges will be laid.

Both parents are scheduled to appear in Killarney provincial court on Feb. 22.