A 26-year-old Winter Haven woman is dead and her 52-year-old mother has been charged with shooting her in an apparent case of mistaken identity, police said.
According to police, Ruby Bing went to her mother's home on 18th Street SE to visit around 8:45 p.m. Monday. Adele Bing was inside after having a heated argument with her boyfriend earlier in the day.
The boyfriend, James Lane, was at the hospital being treated for injuries to his head after Adele Bing hit him with a gun, police said.
Hospital officials contacted Winter Haven police, and while officers were interviewing Lane at the hospital, a call came in about a shooting at Adele Bing's address.
Responding officers found Ruby Bing lying on the ground dead in front of her mother's home.
Officers said they later learned that Ruby Bing had come to visit with her 4-month-old baby and knocked on the door. Adele Bing was still upset about the argument between her and Lane and thought the person knocking was Lane.
Adele armed herself with a baseball bat and a .22 caliber gun and, when she opened the door, a shot was fired, hitting Ruby Bing in the chest, police said.
Ruby Bing died at the scene. The baby was not injured.
Tachelle Kemp, the victim’s aunt, called it a case of mistaken identity.
“I knew from the very beginning when it was her mom that shot her, that it truly was an accident,” Kemp said. “She didn’t intend for her daughter to be on the other side of that door.”
Adele Bing was arrested and charged with second degree murder and child abuse without great bodily harm. Detectives said she claimed the gun discharged accidentally, but admitted she brought it to the door to kill her boyfriend because he had threatened to come back and kill her.
"It was an accident. Knowing them personally, the love she has for her children, grandchildren and everybody else-it was truly an accident," Kemp said.
Police have announced a cash reward for any additional witnesses or information regarding the location of the firearm that was used in the shooting death of Ruby Bing.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Charles Bolton at (863) 651-3028.