Minneapolis woman given probation for role in shooting that wounded 3-year-old son

A 32-year-old woman has been sentenced to probation for her role in a shooting that seriously wounded her 3-year-old son more than eight months ago in the family's north Minneapolis home.

The shooting occurred June 5 near N. Sheridan and N. 23rd avenues at about 8:45 p.m. Relatives took the boy to North Memorial Health Hospital, where he underwent surgery for a gunshot that damaged his bowel and hip bone, the charges read.

Neither police in their public statements nor prosecutors in criminal complaints have said who fired the gun that wounded the boy, who is now 4 years old.

Cydnie C. Zimmerman was sentenced Tuesday in Hennepin County District Court after pleading guilty to child endangerment. Judge Kerry Meyer set aside a one-year jail term and sentenced Zimmerman to two years' probation and ordered her to perform 10 days of "sentence to serve," which often means being part of a supervised work crew or doing some other community work involving physical labor. She also must comply with a child protection plan.

The boy's father, 31-year-old Maceo A.C. Beckley, was sentenced Jan. 30 to four months in the county workhouse, which was imposed under what is known as a stay of imposition. That means the felony convictions for threats of violence will be reduced to a misdemeanor in three years if he successfully complies with the terms of his sentence and probation.

The charges against both parents referenced multiple children in the home at the time of the gunfire. Authorities have not released the victim's identity.

According to the charges:

Police searched the home and found a .40-caliber handgun in the cushion of a living room couch. In the bedroom, police found a bullet and a spent cartridge, a holster with a 10-millimeter magazine, loose ammunition in various locations and a gun safe.

Much of what was located, including the handgun, were "accessible to the children in the home," the charges read. Zimmerman later told police that the gun belonged to Beckley and was in the bedroom when her son was shot. She said Beckley set it down and left the bedroom.