Ohio grandma sentenced for shooting infant granddaughter in the head

HAMILTON, Ohio (TCN) -- A judge sentenced a 43-year-old woman to nine to 12 years in prison for shooting her granddaughter in the head after the woman "snapped."

The Hamilton Journal-News reports Mia Harris was handed the sentence Tuesday, Oct. 29. Harris pleaded guilty in September to one count of felonious assault with a firearm specification, which caused prosecutors to drop two additional charges of felonious assault and one count of improperly discharging a firearm at or into a habitation.

On Dec. 9, 2023, at 1:50 a.m., the Butler County Sheriff’s Office received a call about a shooting involving an infant at an apartment complex in Liberty Township. EMS arrived and found the child in critical condition, but they managed to transport her to a hospital for care. The sheriff’s office identified Harris as the suspect and said she fled the scene before deputies got there. However, law enforcement located and arrested her not long after the incident.

Witnesses said Harris "shot at several family members before intentionally shooting the child."

According to the Hamilton Journal-News, the girl, Myra, was 6 months old at the time of the shooting.

Harris' attorney reportedly argued in court that Harris did not have a criminal past. The attorney said, "Everyone has their ups and downs. She snapped, call it a breakdown, call it a mental breakdown — she just snapped."

WXIX-TV reports on the night of the shooting, Harris started firing at family members in the home. Myra’s mother reportedly moved her to a different room for safety, but Harris broke down the door after shooting at it and aimed at the infant’s head. Harris also aimed at Myra’s mother but missed.

Myra’s mother gave a victim impact statement at the sentencing, saying, "You shot my daughter. You stood over me with a gun and made me plead for my life. I never called you Mia Harris a day in your life until you held a gun to me, and I had to plead for my life, and then you shot my daughter in front of me."

According to the Hamilton Journal-News, prosecutors argued Harris started smoking marijuana more frequently before the shooting after getting the drug from a different dealer.

Prosecutor Kraig Chadrick said, "What happened that night is the result of her substance abuse. She was smoking marijuana more often and one of the side effects of that is paranoia."

Harris underwent multiple psychiatric evaluations, but none of them showed she had a significant mental health disorder.

Myra miraculously survived the shooting but now suffers from seizures and paralysis. She’s had three surgeries since the shooting and could possibly have more.

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