Mom Convicted After Shooting Daughter In Back Of Her Neck

SEAT PLEASANT, MD — A mother charged in the 2024 shooting of her then 13-year-old daughter who was left in critical condition has been convicted.

On Sept. 23, 2024, around 4:50 p.m., now 33-year-old Talecka Brown of Seat Pleasant contacted police about a shooting. Seat Pleasant officers arrived to a home in the 500 block of 69th Place where they found a then 13-year-old girl with a gunshot wound to the back of her neck. She was taken to a nearby hospital in critical condition, police reported.

Surveillance footage showed the teen walking home from school, grabbing a trash can from the curb and entering the house. While giving her first aid, police officers asked the girl what happened and she said she had been shot after getting home from school, according to court documents. The girl later told police at the hospital that she and her mother argued when she got home from school that then turned physical, NBC Washington reported.

According to reports, the mother told the girl to say she was shot by someone who broke into their home. Brown initially told police that a person experiencing homelessness shot her daughter and that she was already bleeding when she came home from school, according to police dispatch audio. Court documents showed Brown gave conflicting statements during an interview with police and eventually admitted that she was the only one home with her daughter at the time of the shooting. A loaded black Glock handgun was recovered from the home after a search warrant was executed.

On Oct. 31, Brown was convicted of attempted first-degree murder, first-degree child abuse, first-degree assault and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony related to the shooting. Brown faces a maximum of life in prison. Her sentencing has been scheduled for Feb. 19.

“It is unimaginable that a mother would turn on her own child in such a violent way,” says Prince George's County State’s Attorney Tara Jackson. “A mother has a duty to love, protect and nurture her child, not cause them harm. Our hearts are with this young survivor, who endured a level of pain and fear no child should ever experience. We want to thank our prosecutors and law enforcement partners for their diligent work in ensuring accountability in this case as well as the jury for their service.”