A Memphis mother is facing a murder charge. Police say she shot a man hiding under her daughter's bed.
Kendra Scott, 36, lives in the Walker Homes neighborhood in Memphis, Tennessee. Police say the shooting happened around 1:45 a.m. on Thursday, July 16, 2026. Scott is now charged with first-degree murder. She is also charged with employing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony. In plain English, that second charge means police say Scott used a gun while committing another serious crime.
Police say Scott found an adult man hiding underneath her daughter's bed in the middle of the night. According to police and court documents, the man had been invited into the home by Scott's daughter. Scott discovered him concealed under the bed. She then shot him. He was later found dead in the front yard of the house. Police say the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the back of the head.
The man has not been publicly identified in police reports. His age was not given either. Police reports also did not name Scott's daughter.
Police and court documents quote Scott describing why she pulled the trigger. She told investigators, "I did what I had to do."
Court documents also cite a warning Scott had given her daughter in the past. According to the documents, Scott had told her daughter something specific. She said she would "put a hole in his a**" if the daughter brought a boy into the house. Police included that statement in the case against Scott.
Scott was scheduled for arraignment on Friday, July 18, 2026. An arraignment is a court hearing. It is where a defendant formally hears the charges against them. The defendant also enters a plea at an arraignment. That means they tell the judge if they are pleading guilty or not guilty.
First-degree murder is the most serious murder charge under the law. It generally applies when prosecutors say a killing was planned or intentional, rather than accidental. The gun charge against Scott is separate from the murder charge. It focuses only on her use of a firearm during the crime.
The case is being investigated by Memphis police. The facts in this report come from police records and court affidavit documents. An affidavit is a written statement signed under oath. It is used by police and prosecutors to lay out the evidence in a case.
The information was first reported by WMC, a Gray News television station based in Memphis. WABI-TV, a Gray Local Media station in Bangor, Maine, republished the report on July 17, 2026, at 12:34 p.m. Eastern time. The story was credited to reporters Shayna Norwood, Joel Moore, and Emily Van de Riet.
No bond amount has been made public in the reporting reviewed for this story. Police have not released the exact street address of the home where the shooting happened. Only the Walker Homes neighborhood was named. The reporting also did not name any other victims in the case.
This is a national story out of Memphis, Tennessee. It does not have a direct South Texas connection. El Tejano is reporting it because readers follow crime news from across the country. That includes stories far outside Starr County and the Rio Grande Valley.
The case remains open. Scott's arraignment on Friday was set to move the case forward in the Memphis court system. No additional court dates were listed in the reporting available at this time. Police have not released further details about the shooting beyond what is in the affidavit.
