Child killed, mother wounded in shooting outside Missouri school

LIBERTY, Mo. (AP) _ A man waiting outside his son's school shot and killed the boy and wounded his mother after a domestic dispute Thursday, police said. <br><br>Jaswinder Singh, 41, was charged Thursday

Friday, November 8th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

LIBERTY, Mo. (AP) _ A man waiting outside his son's school shot and killed the boy and wounded his mother after a domestic dispute Thursday, police said.

Jaswinder Singh, 41, was charged Thursday night with first-degree murder, assault and two counts of armed criminal action, a Clay County dispatcher said. He was being held without bond.

He was arrested about an hour after the shooting at a liquor store in Kansas City, about 20 miles from the school. His wife, Mandeep Kaur Singh, 32, underwent surgery and was expected to recover, police said Thursday night. Police declined to name the hospital.

The shootings happened around 12:30 p.m. when Mandeep Singh was picking up the child _ 9-year-old Kawaldeep Singh _ from St. James Catholic School, which serves 322 students in kindergarten through eighth grade. Police said Kawaldeep Singh died at the scene.

The boy's sister also attended the school, but was not injured. Police said she witnessed the shooting. She was being cared for by Clay County juvenile authorities.

Investigators believe a handgun was used in the shooting, although no weapon had been recovered, Liberty police Lt. Mark Misenhelter said.

Rebecca Summers, spokeswoman for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, said all students were accounted for and the school was locked down.

The students never play in the parking lot, Summers said, ``so I can't imagine they saw this.''

Former St. James student Ed Hughes said he doesn't have any children at the school, but he returned to help direct parents outside the theater.

``We're a very close-knit, very loving community,'' he said. ``So I just had to see how I could help.''