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Raage Hassan thought his loaded handgun was sufficiently hidden and doesn't think he did anything wrong, according to his attorney.
Hassan, 28, is charged with recklessly endangering another person and endangering the welfare of a child. Police said in early March, Hassan's 3-year-old son found his handgun and shot his mother, Amal Moallin. It happened at the family's home on Cumberland Pointe Circle in Upper Allen Township.
Moallin nearly died, according to police, and spent a month recovering in the hospital. She was at Hassan's side during a preliminary hearing Monday morning in Mechanicsburg.
Hassan waived that hearing, meaning the case will be forwarded to county court.
Police say Hassan kept his loaded gun in a bottom drawer in his closet. They say the child easily found access to the weapon.
But attorney Corky Goldstein, who represents Hassan, said his client hid the gun in clothing. He said Hassan thought that was good enough.
"He believes ... he did everything he felt was appropriate to keep the gun, that he kept in his house for protection, away from the children, hidden among his clothes," Goldstein said. "It will have to be decided whether he did enough."
Police disagree. They said Hassan didn't do nearly enough to protect his children from the weapon.
"The only way a gun is safe, to have children around, is if it's unloaded and if it's locked up in a fashion that it can't be used," said Detective Sgt. Thomas Kauffman.
Goldstein said Hassan is from Somalia and doesn't fully understand American law. Police, however, point out Hassan has been in the United States since 1996.
"He would want you to know that he's a good man," Goldstein said.
Hassan will appear in county court in August.
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