A man has been charged after shooting his wife and starting a fire in their Minneapolis home over the weekend.

On Tuesday, Lue Xiong, 31, was charged with one count of first-degree arson, second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, threats of violence and domestic assault..

As previously reported, the Minneapolis Fire Department responded to a house fire on the 1000 block of Irving Avenue North at around 2:30 p.m. on Saturday. While on scene, they notified Minneapolis police about someone with a gunshot wound in the home.

Authorities spoke to Xiong’s wife, who said that he “believed the devil was in the walls” and was acting this way because of the drugs he had used.

She said he had been using narcotics before and after the shooting and had exhibited similar behavior in the past.

Court records say that during an argument between 6 and 8 a.m., Xiong accused his wife of cheating on him and said that if she didn’t tell the truth, he would shoot her with the AK-47 he was holding. Xiong then shot her once in the leg and had their two oldest children help bandage her injury, court documents state.

The woman said she didn’t call 911 because it was a “tough situation,” and Xiong threatened to shoot officers if they responded to the house.

Later in the day, the woman was alerted by her children that there was a fire in the house that Xiong had started in the laundry room. The woman and the six children, ranging in ages from 8 months to 14 years old, then ran out of the house, the criminal complaint states.

Court records say that Xiong was placed into custody. Officers found a glass pipe with drug residue on it, a baggie with a white crystalline substance inside and a lighter.

Medical personnel determined the woman had a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to her leg, and she was brought to the hospital.

Through investigation, authorities learned that in prior days, Xiong had shot the wall near a closet he thought “the demon” was going to come through. The woman said Xiong also shot holes up through the floor into their daughter’s room to try and get rid of the demon.

Xiong also told his wife that their youngest child “has the devil inside him,” and he nearly pointed the gun at the 8-month-old before he was stopped, according to court documents.

Police found fire damage to a wall in the basement next to the bedroom. In the home, officials found a bottle with a yellowish/clear liquid that appeared to be gas, multiple guns, ammunition and a glass meth pipe.

Xiong is currently in custody and has his first court date scheduled for April 24.

Minneapolis school board members Tuesday night began detailing difficult cuts they expect to make to close a $75 million budget gap for next school year — including cutting more than 100 positions tied to special education.

District leaders had previously signaled school nutrition and special education would be affected by cuts. Some layoff notices had already been sent. As they met Tuesday night, the board’s finance committee said the total number of position cuts coming hadn’t been finalized.

Protesters at the meeting pushed back on talk of reductions, at one point standing and chanting “Who’s schools? Our schools!” They called on board members to sign a pledge not to touch student-facing special education positions.

Daniel Degnan, a parent with a son in a special education program, told board members his son had attended a Minneapolis school with an underfunded special education program in the past and the difference was drastic.

“I’m not worried about if my son will regress, but by how much,” said Degnan, adding that his son is flourishing now with the help of speech device and proper support. “These cuts would not be simple restructuring of staff and resources at Dowling Elementary. It would be a complete and utter denial of education for our most vulnerable.”

Board members said they were focused on cutting positions that weren’t student-facing and were trying to minimize direct effects on classrooms. They said cuts to math and literacy staff were minimized. They said no programs aimed at helping students of color were eliminated.

Among the money-saving proposals, board member said plans include:

Collin Beachy, chair of the school board, praised the staff for its work providing the board detailed budget data and options.

“I’ve been saying to you guys for months now about how much hard work I know that you’re all doing and how painful and stressful it can be,” Beachy said. “You know, we’ve asked for transparency and I think that we’ve gotten it on steroids here.”

Now the state’s fourth-largest district, Minneapolis has struggled for years with budget deficits driven largely by shrinking enrollment. Last year as the district faced an even larger budget gap of $110 million, it drew from its reserves, cut jobs and left nearly 5 percent of its open staff positions unfilled to make ends meet. Some of the cuts included positions in finance, human resources and cleaning staff.

Officials in recent months have also been examining the district’s building use for possible savings. They’ve estimated Minneapolis Public Schools is operating now at 65 percent of the enrollment the buildings could ideally support, though district leaders haven’t said whether they plan to close buildings and they did not speak to the issue Tuesday night.

The full board is expected to approve a final budget in June.

A recent survey by the Association of Metropolitan School Districts shows all but a few Twin Cities area districts are dealing with deficits, many in the millions of dollars. 

Added together, districts expect to see a shortfall of $280 million. That would slip to $264 million if Gov. Tim Walz’s budget proposal is approved. Those numbers are slightly better than the more than $300 million in expected shortfalls districts reported last year.