OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — Osceola County homicide detectives are recommending a felony charge against the mother of a 2-year-old boy who was accidentally shot and killed by his 4-year-old cousin.
Detectives completed their investigation into the death of Brayden Tennyson and forwarded a charge of culpable negligence against his mother, 37-year-old Shakelia Tennyson, to the State Attorney’s Office.
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The sheriff’s office said Tennyson returned to Louisville, Georgia, last week and has been notified of the recommended charge.
The shooting happened July 12 outside an Airbnb on Scrapbook Street in Osceola County.
Investigators said the two children were briefly left unattended inside a vehicle when the 4-year-old found an unsecured handgun belonging to Brayden’s mother. The gun fired, striking Brayden.
He was taken to a hospital, where he later died.
Brayden and his family had traveled from Georgia to celebrate his third birthday, which would have been July 14.
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Florida law makes it a third-degree felony to leave a loaded firearm within a minor’s reach if the child obtains it and uses it to injure or kill someone.
The State Attorney’s Office will determine whether to formally file the charge.
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