A Kansas mother is up against charges of second-degree murder and aggravated assault after allegedly accidentally shooting her 16-year-old son. According to the police report, Tesha Jenkins, 46, says she pointed the gun at her son during an argument to try to scare him, but didn’t mean to pull the trigger. The affidavit identified the teenager who died as Robert C. Florence.
More from LittleThings: Babysitter Accidentally Shoots Her 10-Year-Old Nephew While Taking Selfies With Loaded Gun
The shooting took place on October 9, 2024. Authorities from the Wichita Police Department said they arrived at an “emotionally distraught” Jenkins’ apartment and found the teen lying face down. He had a single gunshot wound to his forehead, according to Madamenoire.
“I shot my baby,” Jenkins cried, going limp and collapsing to the ground. Asked by Officer Morris if she was injured after he noticed blood on her face, she explained that she had kissed her son after the incident.
In the affidavit, Jenkins explained that she’d been upset because her son had skipped school that day. She also said he’d started nagging her, repeatedly saying “Momma” in a quest to try to use her phone, which is something she initially denied him.
Florence later said that he was going to visit a downstairs neighbor to get some “weed.” His mom described him as a “bad kid” who was into drugs and would not go to school often.
More from LittleThings: FL Toddler Finds Gun In Home, Shoots Mother During Zoom Conference Call
The report says the teen later requested to use Jenkins’ phone again to call one of his brothers to ask their father for money, to which she agreed. After the call, she claimed that he began pulling down curtains and tearing paper, something she believes was intended to irritate her. “Jenkins admitted she was very frustrated with Robert and described his actions as ‘pushing her buttons,’” the affidavit stated.
Later, while resting on her bed and texting a friend, Jenkins alleged that her son took her 9mm handgun out of a backpack. “Robert made no threats with the gun and did not point it at Jenkins. Jenkins lunged forward and grabbed the handgun and backpack from Robert,” the report said. “Jenkins held the handgun, pointing it towards Robert and made the statement, ‘do you just want to die?’ Jenkins stated the handgun ‘went off’ and she noticed Robert fall forward and that’s when she realized she had shot him.” The teen died on October 11, 2024.
In her Mirandized interview, Jenkins said she thought the gun was empty. She added that she recalled a possibility of loading two rounds about two weeks before. She also admitted to racking “the slide back,” which means she chambered a round while taking the gun from her son. She’s currently in custody at the Sedgwick County Jail with a bond set at $1.2 million.
One of her other sons, Kurtis Florence, told People that he believes the shooting was an accident. “My mom wasn’t the type to go off the rail,” he said. “I’m convinced that it was an accident and that it wasn’t intentional.” The older brother noted that his younger brother decided to skip school that day because he had no clean clothes to wear.
The brother remembers his younger sibling as a trustworthy young man. “He kept it genuine at all times,” the 20-year-old said. “He was always able to point you to your truth. People lie a lot of times, but he could see through all that.”
