A grandmother is being charged for intentionally shooting her 5-month old granddaughter in the face while watching her in Ohio.
According to a Butler County Sheriff, Mia Desiree Harris, 43, is facing multiple charges of felonious assault in connection with the shooting of the infant early Saturday.
“The little girl was shot in the eye,” said Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones. “It was definitely not an accident. It was done on purpose.”
Police were called to a townhouse on Dutch view Court in Liberty Township for a report of “an infant being shot” around 1:50 a.m. on Dec. 9.
After arriving at the scene of the crime, officers discovered the small child was suffering from a gunshot wound to the head. She was immediately rushed to UC West Chester Hospital where she was listed in critical condition.
After the shooting, Harris fled the area and was later apprehended by officers without incident.
“Mia Harris, the grandmother of the child, was identified by witnesses as the shooter,” Jones said. “During the incident Harris shot at several family members before intentionally shooting the child.”
Harris broke down a locked bedroom door, after firing the handgun through the bedroom door several times. She then shot the infant in the head at close range while the child was lying on a bed.
“The baby is hanging onto life as we speak,” said Jones. “It’s in God’s hands now.”
Harris’s bond was set at $1.5 million Monday.
During her preliminary hearing Wednesday in Area II Court, Harris sat next to her attorney, Joe Auciello, wearing a bright green Butler County Jail jumpsuit and shackles.
Judge Kevin C. McDonough decided after hearing the testimony from Detective Dan Turner to send the case to a Butler County grand jury for consideration.
Auciello asked the judge to lower the $1.5 million bond or allow it to be 10%. He said Harris wasn’t a flight risk and she had the support of her family.
Prosecutor Jessica Rodkey said Harris “fired a deadly weapon at three people” and the bond was “appropriate.”
Harris told detectives the girl wasn’t her granddaughter and after shooting the baby she was, “Sorry, not sorry,” Turner testified.
