Jul 12, 2026

Prison: Kan. father left gun unattended and his daughter died

Posted Jul 12, 2026 12:00 AM
Tejeda-photo Sedgwick County
Tejeda-photo Sedgwick County

SEDGWICK COUNTY —A Kansas man who admitted his responsibility in the accidental shooting death of his 1-year-old daughter is going to prison.

On Friday Judge Chrystal Krier sentenced 26-year-old Michael Tejeda to 237 months in prison, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office.

In May, Tejeda pleaded guilty  to second-degree murder and two counts of aggravated endangerment, according to the District Attorney's office.

He was originally charged with 1st degree murder, two counts of aggravated endangering a child and criminal possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, according to the district attorney's office.

Just after 8:30p.m. Feb. 28, 2025, police responded to a shooting inside a home in the 2200 block of S Santa Fe in Wichita, according to Wichita Police spokesman Andrew Ford. First responders discovered a 1-year-old girl who had sustained a gunshot wound to the upper body.

EMS transported the child to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 9:27p.m.  

The person who called 911, identified as Tejeda, reported his 3-year-old daughter shot his 1-year-old daughter.  The children's mother was interviewed and released, according to police.

Following an investigation, police arrested Tejeda. He has been in jail since the tragedy.