'Very scary:' Father charged after young student brought loaded gun to Cudahy elementary school

CUDAHY, Wis. (CBS 58) -- A Cudahy man is being criminally charged after authorities say his 12-year-old child brought a handgun to Lincoln Elementary School in Cudahy last month. 

Nan Bin Li, 44, is facing one count of leaving a loaded firearm near a child. 

His wife, Xaioping Wang, 40, was previously facing the same charge, although her case was dropped by authorities Friday, May 23.

The sixth grader reportedly brought a loaded handgun to the school inside a backpack on April 30. Another student alerted school staff to the possibility of a weapon inside of a backpack that was left unattended by its owner. 

The student, according to the complaint, told authorities he found the gun in a nightstand in his parents' bedroom and stated he believed it belonged to his father. 

The complaint said the student admitted to taking the gun to a park in St. Francis a few days prior and to a park on April 29 and said "he must have forgotten" the gun was inside his backpack. 

He also reportedly said this wasn't the first time this had happened, as he had "brought the gun to school twice."

Authorities searched the student's phone and reportedly found photos of the handgun dating back to October of 2024, meaning he had access to the firearm since at least then. 

The student's mother was interviewed, and reportedly stated her husband kept his gun in a nightstand drawer in their bedroom and kept their other guns in a gun safe. 

Officers searched their home and located two additional firearms in a gun safe. 

"There's gun safety laws for a reason, and if you choose to own a firearm, own it responsibly," said Jason Kuechenmeister, a former Cudahy district parent. "That's the first thing anyone would teach you in owning a firearm, is it should be locked, and frankly, you can go to many places and get a free gun lock. So why would you not have this secured or at least secured with a lock?"

He told CBS 58 his family decided to pull his son out of school following the incident.

"It's just pure negligence and it contributes to the problems we're having in school and in society," Kuechenmeister said. "If the parents don't know what's going on outside of school, how do they know what's going on inside their home?"

Kuechenmeister said while he's glad the boy's parents are facing charges, he wishes what they were facing was more severe.

"Hearing about it once, I think is alarming. Hearing about it multiple times, and also multiple times realizing we didn't know, is disgusting and very scary," Kuechenmeister said. "From our part, the community isn't letting this down."

Li, who pleaded not guilty, will appear next in court on June 24 for a pre-trial conference.