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A Kansas man has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder after his 3-year-old daughter fatally shot her 21-month-old sister with his gun.
The incident took place on an evening in February 2025 when Michael Tejeda left his gun unattended while he was watching his two daughters at their home in Wichita.
Tejeda’s older daughter took the gun when he was in another room, according to The Wichita Eagle. While playing with the gun, the girl accidentally shot and killed her younger sister, Myla.
Following the shooting, Tejeda, 26, called the children’s mother – who was getting a tattoo from a friend at the time of the incident – and 911, per KAKE. While speaking to the 911 operator, Tejada said that his older daughter had killed her sister.
Myla was then transported to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead about an hour later.
The older daughter repeatedly apologized for shooting her sister and expressed concerns that she would go to jail, according to KSNW. After the shooting, the 3-year-old was taken to the Child Advocacy Center and participated in a forensic interview.
The girl reportedly said that she was “mostly interested in playing but did say she received an injury earlier in the day and received a Band-Aid,” per the outlet. Additionally, she did not mention anything about the gun.
While explaining how the girl got her hands on the gun, Tejeda told police he removed the weapon from a holster on his waistband when he was watching TV and napping with his older daughter in the living room, according to The Wichita Eagle.
“I knew better, [I] should’ve put it somewhere else,” he said, according to KSNW. Tejeda added that the 3-year-old was aware that he carried a gun and she previously expressed curiosity about it.
More than one year after the incident, Tejeda agreed to a plea deal and pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree murder, two counts of aggravated child endangerment and one count of criminal possession of a weapon by a convicted felon during a status hearing that took place on May 21.
Tejeda was originally charged with first-degree murder, as well as the other three charges. Both the defense and prosecution have asked for a mid-range sentence and that the sentences run consecutively.
He is scheduled to be sentenced during a hearing on July 9.
The Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond to Us Weekly’s request for comment regarding the case.
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