Detectives are recommending prosecutors charge the mother of a 2-year-old who was accidentally shot and killed with her gun earlier this month as they began their vacation in Central Florida, the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office announced Monday.
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The child, Brayden Tennyson, was unsupervised when his 4-year-old cousin found the gun and shot him after the family arrived from Georgia to an Airbnb in unincorporated Kissimmee.
The family hadn’t even entered the rental home when the shot rang out from inside the car. Speaking to reporters July 13, Sheriff Christopher Blackmon said the gun was unsecured and found where the child could easily grab it.
“It was laid out, it was literally in the open,” Blackmon said.
Brayden’s mother, 37-year-old Shakeila Tennyson, could now be charged with felony culpable negligence, the agency said. It’s up to the Orange-Osceola State Attorney’s Office to decide whether to file the charge in Osceola County court.
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“Shakelia Tennyson returned to Georgia last week and has been notified of the charges,” an agency statement read. The State Attorney’s Office declined to comment further, citing the ongoing investigation.
The family was in Central Florida ahead of Brayden’s third birthday. News outlets in Georgia described Brayden as an outgoing child, a fan of Spider-Man who loved playing as the superhero by pretending to shoot webs and hump around.
Brayden was one of more than 300 children under 11 who have been recorded killed or injured by gunfire in the U.S. so far in 2026. A GoFundMe seeking to raise money to return him to Georgia and cover funeral costs has raised more than $12,700 as of Monday.
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