Sheriff's Office: Cousin of Georgia family found unholstered gun in vehicle
The mother of a two-year old who was fatally shot July 5 outside of a vacation rental home has been charged with culpable negligence, a third-degree felony. in the incident.
Osceola County Sheriff’s detectives have determined that a four-year-old cousin of Brayden Tennyson found an unholstered handgun under the seat of a family vehicle and fatally shot the two-year-old.
A felony charge of culpable negligence has been forwarded to the State Attorney’s Office against Shakelia Tennyson, 37, of Louisville, Ga. Police say Tennyson returned to Georgia last week and has been notified of the charges.
The incident took place the afternoon of July 5 at a residence on Scrapbook Street in Kissimmee, located in The Cove East at Storey Lake rental community north of Pioneer Village at Shingle Creek Regional Park. Deputies were called to the area after receiving several 911 calls about a shooting and found the child with a gunshot wound.
State statute says while exposing another person to personal injury is culpable negligence, which is a misdemeanor, “Whoever violates (that statute) by storing or leaving a loaded firearm within the reach or easy access of a minor, if the minor obtains the firearm and uses it to inflict injury or death upon himself or herself or any other person, commits a felony of the third degree.”
