A 32-year-old woman accused of shooting her own daughter, then allegedly instructing her to lie about the circumstances of that shooting, remains in custody in Maryland.
In an initial statement on Tuesday, the Seat Pleasant Police Department announced that the woman in question, Talecka Brown, had been charged with first-degree attempted murder in connection with a shooting that took place one day prior. Per police, officers arrived at the woman’s residence at around 4:50 p.m. local time, at which point they found an injured 13-year-old. The individual, Brown’s daughter, was “suffering from a gunshot wound to the upper body.”
A report from NBC4 Washington gets more specific, stating that the teen had a gunshot wound to the neck. The teen is reported to be in critical but stable condition at a local hospital.
Online court records from Prince George’s County District Court show that Brown has been charged with first-degree assault, second-degree assault, first-degree murder, and firearm use in a felony. She’s listed as currently being held without bond, with a preliminary scheduled for Oct. 25.
“It is always tragic when we have acts of violence within our community, but it is heart-wrenching when the perpetrator is supposed to be your protector,” Cedric Heyward, Acting Chief of the Seat Pleasant Police Department, said in a news release. “I am glad to hear that the victim is recovering at a local hospital, but the emotional trauma will remain for some time.”
Per a regional NBC report, the alleged victim in the shooting said she and her mother started fighting when she returned home after school that day. The argument is alleged to have eventually taken a physical direction, with the teen telling law enforcement that she heard gunfire while she was walking down the stairs, at which point she fell. Allegedly, Brown then instructed her 13-year-old daughter to lie by blaming the shooting on an intruder at the residence. Later, Brown is said to have placed the blame on an unidentified unhoused person.
In the hours since Brown’s arrest, prosecutors have pointed to a call they say she made from jail, adding that there is concern about the mother having an influence on the alleged teen victim as the case continues.
Complex has reached out to the Seat Pleasant Police Department and the Prince George’s County Police Department for further comment. This story may be updated.
