Summerlin man charged with child abuse after son shot

A Summerlin man is charged with child abuse after police say he shot his teenage son in the neck in March.

Andualem Kassa, 40, was arrested Sept. 22 on one count of child abuse with a deadly weapon resulting in substantial bodily harm, according to court records.

Police were called to a Summerlin home March 30 after Kassa called to report he had shot his 14-year-old son with a 9 mm handgun, according to an arrest report released Tuesday by the Metropolitan Police Department.

The boy was taken to University Medical Center but was unable to speak to detectives after surgery, only using a whiteboard to say he did not remember what had happened, according to the report.

Kassa told police he was cleaning the gun, but no cleaning supplies were found. He then told officers he had recently started keeping his gun on him instead of locked in a safe.

“Kassa usually keeps his firearm in a safe but had taken the firearm out the night prior because he had been watching the news and had seen reported robberies,” according to the report. “Kassa was confronted that all three statements he provided were different and if the evidence would contradict his statements Kassa replied, ‘I will stick to — to this story. Yes.’ ”

A report from the Department of Family Services said the child was in serious but stable condition and that the family had no prior history with Child Protective Services.

Kassa was released after his initial appearance Sept. 22 with the bail condition of “no firearms in the home or his possession,” according to court records. He is scheduled to appear in court again Tuesday.

Contact Sabrina Schnur at sschnur@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur on Twitter.