Police in Minnesota have launched an investigation after an 8-year-old boy was fatally shot by his father after attempting to protect his mother during a violent altercation.
The child’s mother, Cherish Edwards, wrote on a GoFundMe fundraising page that her partner, 30-year-old Danair Harden, was trying to shoot and kill her during a dispute in their home on June 5, but accidentally shot their 8-year-old son Amir Harden.
“Amir tried wrestling the gun out of his father’s hand,” Edwards wrote on the fundraising page. “I screamed for him to leave and go to the neighbors, he refused & said, ‘Mommy, I’m not leaving you here.’ His father shot himself in the head after accidentally shooting Amir.”
Edwards said that Amir’s dad turned the gun on himself in front of Amir’s four siblings. He and Amir were taken to a local hospital.
Amir suffered injuries to his head and neck and died a few days after the shooting. Harden remains hospitalized in critical condition.
“His 4 siblings witnessed this tragic event,” Edwards wrote on the GoFundMe page. “My kids are traumatized & probably will need therapy for the rest of their lives.”
Just one day before the shooting, Harden was in court to face assault charges in connection to a domestic dispute that happened on May 30. That day, Edwards called police after Harden allegedly choked her when she told him she wanted to end their 10-year relationship.
According to the Star Tribune, she told officers that other domestic disputes between her and Harden had taken place several times in the past, and she was “concerned [an assault] would happen again,” according to court documents. She also warned police that he had a permit to carry a gun and almost always carried one with him.
Harden was booked into jail on the morning of June 5.
A judge set his bail at $4,000 and ordered him to stay away from Edwards’ apartment, have no contact with her, and turn over all of his firearms to law enforcement.
He was released later that afternoon, and Amir was shot that night.
A police spokesperson said that charges against Harden will be considered if he survives his injuries.
“The guilt I feel. That bullet was for me and not my child,” Edwards told KSTP 5 News.
The fundraiser Edwards started for Amir’s funeral expenses has raised more than $16,000, exceeding its $10,000 goal.
“I don’t want him to be forgotten,” she said. “He was only eight, and he had so much potential. He was gonna be somebody. Now, I’ll never know.”
