In a heart-wrenching incident on January 15, 2022, 8-year-old Tiana Huddleston, a Black female, was fatally shot inside her Milwaukee, Wisconsin, home. The tragedy unfolded at approximately 2:25 p.m. when her father, Michael Huddleston, 47, was handling a firearm. Tiana's older brother, who was 18 at the time, made the distressing 911 call, reporting that his sister had been shot and their father was rushing her to the hospital.
Despite the swift medical attention, Tiana succumbed to a single gunshot wound to her torso and was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
The suspect in this devastating event was Tiana’s own father, Michael Huddleston. According to a criminal complaint, Huddleston had been drinking tequila and decided to give his children a lesson on gun safety. In what he described as a "big mistake," he claimed he thought the gun's safety was on and that it was not loaded when he accidentally pulled the trigger while "showing off" for the children. He later told investigators that his daughter was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Upon being informed of his daughter's death at the hospital, Huddleston was distraught, repeatedly telling officers to "Just take me to jail. I did it."
Michael Huddleston was taken into custody and subsequently charged with first-degree reckless homicide and possession of a firearm by a felon. In May 2022, he pleaded guilty to the charges. On July 15, 2022, a Milwaukee County judge sentenced him to 20 years in prison, followed by 15 years of extended supervision for his role in the tragic death of his young daughter. The incident prompted pleas from city officials, including then-acting Mayor Cavalier Johnson, urging gun owners to secure their firearms safely and never handle them near children.
