Kansas mom, 46, allegedly intended to discharge handgun to scare her son, 16, but ended up killing him: Police

A Kansas mother, 46-year-old Tesha Florence, faces serious charges after admitting to fatally shooting her 16-year-old son, Robert Florence, despite claiming that her intent was merely to “scare him, not to cause harm.”

Sedgwick County Jail records show that
Florence is charged with second-degree murder, aggravated assault and aggravated burglary.

In an emotional statement during her arrest, Florence told the Wichita Police Department, “I shot my baby.” Police responded to the tragic incident at Florence’s apartment on E. Harry Street in Wichita on October 9.

Florence was described as “emotionally distraught,” according to probable cause affidavit. Witnesses noted that she “fell to the ground and rolled around in distress,” asking officers to kill her out of despair.

When asked about her condition, as she had blood on her face, Florence replied, saying she kissed her son after the shooting. Florence allegedly expressed that she did not intend to shoot Robert, only to scare him by pointing the gun in his direction.

The tragic events unfolded when Robert, who Florence described as “a bad kid” with a history of drug use and truancy, decided to stay home from school that day. After calling his school to inform them of his absence, Florence reported that Robert began to bother her by repeatedly calling out for her attention and asking to use her phone, requests she initially denied.

Later, Robert allegedly told his mother he was going downstairs to get marijuana and asked again to use her phone, which she eventually allowed so he could call his brother to ask their father for money.

According to the affidavit, Florence said her son started to become destructive, pulling down curtains and throwing paper around, which she believed was done to irritate her. At some point, Florence laid down to text a friend, but she observed her son taking a Ruger Security 9 mm handgun from a backpack.

As the affidavit recounts, Robert did not threaten his mother with the gun. However, Florence lunged forward, grabbed the gun and backpack, and pointed the firearm at him, allegedly saying, “do you just want to die?” She told police the gun “went off,” hitting her son in the forehead, and only then did she realize she had actually shot him.

Robert succumbed to his injuries two days later, on October 11.

In her interview with detectives, Florence claimed she thought the gun was empty, though she recalled possibly loading two rounds into it two weeks before the incident. She also admitted to racking the slide when she took the gun from her son, unintentionally chambering a round.

Although she insisted she never intended to shoot Robert, she acknowledged that she may have intended to fire the weapon in an attempt to scare him.

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During the investigation into the fatal shooting, law enforcement learned about another incident involving Florence from earlier in March.

In that case, she allegedly forced her way into her ex-husband’s home, where she pointed her gun at him and his 22-year-old girlfriend. This incident has led to additional aggravated assault and burglary charges against Florence.

Currently, Florence remains in custody with a bond set at $1.2 million.