Jan. 5—A 4-year-old Rostraver boy continues to recover from a head wound after accidentally shooting himself in July with his father’s gun.

Meanwhile, his father was ordered Friday to stand trial on charges of child endangerment and reckless endangerment. The gun was left loaded and unsecured under a bed next to a child’s painting set, according to police testimony during a preliminary hearing for Michael Lynn, 37.

Lynn now has sole custody of the boy, according to his attorney Jill Devine.

“Ronnie’s doing well,” Devine said after the hearing. “He’s thriving.”

Lynn and the boy’s mother, Laura C. Steele, 32, of Pittsburgh, were charged in December in connection with the July 6 shooting at their home on Gaudio Drive. Steele waived her right to a preliminary hearing Friday on the same charges.

County Detective Jason Napier testified during Lynn’s hearing that Lynn reported Steele went into the bedroom to lie down while he was playing video games with an older son. Lynn heard a loud pop in the bedroom and found the wounded boy and the gun out of its holster on the floor.

“He said he kept that under the bed and it was kept there for personal protection,” Napier testified.

Rostraver Detective Sgt. Raymond Dugan said the bullet when through the child’s eye and out the back of his head.

“The trajectory was in an upward motion” and the bullet lodged in the ceiling, he said.

When not in use, the gun was stashed under Lynn’s side of the bed, Dugan testified.

“Was the gun secured?” Assistant District Attorney Chuck Washburn asked.

“It was not, the only secured item it was in was a holster,” Dugan responded.

Lynn became emotional a couple times in the courtroom during police testimony. Devine was unsuccessful in her attempt to have the charges against him dismissed. She argued that the shooting was an accident and the boy was not in the direct care of Lynn, who legally owned the firearm, at the time.

“He is a caring, doting and conscientious father,” she said. “There was no intent to endanger this child.”

Washburn argued Lynn had a duty to care for the boy and that he should’ve known the child’s access to a loaded gun could cause serious harm. Both Lynn and Steele are free on unsecured bail.

The Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office is partnering with nonprofit Ray of Hope to provide free gun locks. To get one, call 724-875-2415 or email egoldberg@mhaswpa.org.

Renatta Signorini is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Renatta by email at rsignorini@triblive.com or via Twitter .