An Ohio grandmother admitted this week to intentionally shooting her sleeping 6-month-old granddaughter in the face, saying she was “sorry, but I'm not sorry.”
Mia Desiree Harris, 43, was in a rage against her granddaughter, Myla, when she fired multiple shots from a 9mm handgun into the wooden door to the baby's bedroom, then broke down the door and shot the baby in the eye, according to court documents.
During the violent confrontation on Dec. 9, 2023, Harris also punched another person in the face, attempted to shoot another in the head at close range but missed, and then shot the baby, according to court records.
Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones said the family was arguing at their Liberty Township home when Harris grabbed the weapon. WXIX reported.
The unrepentant grandmother told officers Myra “is not my granddaughter” and, when asked why she shot the child in the face, responded, “I'm sorry but I'm not sorry,” Detective Daniel Turner testified in December. WCPO reported.
Investigators also learned that Harris harbored deep resentment toward his family.
Turner also testified that she believed Harris was trying to “take all her money and leave” and that she wasn't going to let that happen, according to WCPO, adding that Harris was trying to “crucify” her family.
Harris pleaded guilty Tuesday to a felony assault charge in the shooting. To Journal News.
Additional charges of other assaults on family members were dismissed in exchange for the plea agreement.
Myra miraculously survived the incident and is recovering better than expected, the Journal News reported.
Jones said the Butler County Sheriff's Office responded to the home around 1:50 a.m. after Myra's mother called police to say the baby had been shot. News Release.
“Please help my baby,” Myla's mother pleaded with the 911 operator, WXIX reported.
Police found the baby in critical condition with a gunshot wound to the eye. The baby was taken to a local hospital where he underwent two surgeries, police said.
Authorities said Harris fled the scene but was quickly taken into custody after witnesses identified him as the suspect.
“Shooting a 6-month-old baby is one of the most abhorrent, despicable criminal acts I've ever seen,” Jones told WXIX at the time.
“What's worse is this baby's grandmother,” he said.
Harris is being held in the Butler County Jail and faces 15 years in prison when he is sentenced on October 29th.
