LIBERTY, MO. ? A man who shot and killed his son while arguing with his wife in a school parking lot was sentenced Friday to life in prison.

Jaswinder Singh, 43, of Excelsior Springs, pulled out a revolver and fired several shots during the confrontation with his wife outside St. James Catholic School in the Kansas City suburb of Liberty on Nov. 7, 2002.

Kawaldeep Singh, 9, who witnesses said had stepped between his parents, died at the scene. The wife, Mandeep Kaur Singh, was seriously wounded.

Singh was charged with first-degree murder, first-degree assault and two counts of armed criminal action.

Prosecutors had planned to seek the death penalty, but Singh pleaded guilty in December to first-degree murder. Prosecutors dismissed the other charges and agreed to not seek the death penalty.

“It’s an unfortunate tragedy for everybody,” said Patrick Berrigan, Singh’s attorney.

The Singhs, who owned a convenience store in Excelsior Springs, had been having marriage problems, attorneys have said.

Jaswinder Singh apparently had followed his wife and a female friend as they drove to the school to pick up Kawaldeep and a younger sister on the afternoon of the shootings. The sister was outside the building when Singh began shooting but was not hurt.

Mandeep Singh did not speak at the sentencing and declined comment afterward.