Affidavit: Toddler fatally shoots sister while Wichita father is watching them
New details in the deadly accidental shooting of a 1-year-old girl on Feb. 28 in south Wichita describe the series of events that led to a father being charged with murder.
Michael Tejeda, 25, of Wichita, was charged Tuesday, March 4 with first-degree murder in the commission of a felony, two counts of aggravated child endangerment and criminal possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, court records show.
The charges come after a probable cause affidavit said his 3-year-old daughter accidentally shot his 1-year-old daughter in the head. The infant was taken to a hospital where she died, police previously said.
The affidavit, released on Friday, gave this account of the incident:
Police responded at 8:36 p.m. to a home in the 2200 block of South Santa Fe, near Pawnee and Broadway. Tejeda had called 911 and said his eldest daughter had shot his younger daughter. The person taking the 911 call said they could hear Tejeda asking his daughter why she did that.
A Wichita police sergeant arrived and saw a firefighter carrying out the infant girl that was shot. She was taken to Wesley Medical Center and pronounced deceased at 9:27 p.m.
A detective interviewed Tejeda’s father, Librido Tejeda, who said his son had called him, telling him about the shooting. The father drove to the home, which is a couple blocks away.
The girls’ mother, 24-year-old India Cunningham, was getting a tattoo at a friend’s apartment in west Wichita while Tejeda watched the children.
Cunningham got a call from Tejeda, letting her know about the shooting, and immediately left and drove to the home. She arrived and sat in the back of a police car consoling her eldest daughter.
Cunningham told her daughter that it wasn’t her fault, to which her daughter kept saying she was sorry.
Tejeda was taken in for questioning after being arrested. He said Cunningham had a tattoo appointment at 5 p.m. He watched the children after she left. The younger daughter was sleeping in her room, while the eldest daughter watched TV on the living room couch where Tejeda was napping.
Tejeda recalled waking up at 6 p.m. and watched TV with his daughter. At 8 p.m., he realized he had fallen asleep with his handgun held in a holster around his waist.
He removed the firearm from his waist and placed it on the fireplace in the living room, directly under the television that his daughter was watching.
Tejeda told detectives that “I knew better, should’ve put it somewhere else,” when referring to where he put the gun down.
The eldest daughter knew that her father carried a gun, had seen it before and was curious about it. Tejeda said she had never touched it and that it was kept on top of his closet.
After placing the gun on the fireplace, Tejeda went into the bathroom, where he kept the door open and could see the fireplace. He said he watched the gun the entire time.
While he was in bathroom, his youngest daughter went from the bedroom to the living room. Tejeda went into the living room and changed the TV to a children’s show. He then went into his bedroom to change his clothes.
While changing his pants, he heard a loud bang and his eldest daughter running to her room crying. He asked her what that sound was; she said that she was sorry. He walked into the living room and found his younger daughter lying on the couch with a gunshot wound to her head. The gun was lying on the couch next to her.
Tejeda picked up his daughter and carried her into a red Jeep Cherokee. A neighbor asked if he needed a ride. He learned that police were called and almost there.
An autopsy done on the infant girl said the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head and the manner of death is a homicide.
Tejeda was convicted in October 2022 for possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and sentenced on March 2023 to probation, court records show.