Date – April 21, 2020
It is with tremendous sadness that we report today, at 10:21 a.m., the Westminster Police and Fire Department Communications Center received a 911 call regarding a three-year old girl who was shot inside her home. Police and Fire personnel were sent to a home on Moore Circle near 107th Avenue. The investigation is in the preliminary stages, but it appears that two siblings were playing when the older sibling (7-years old) found an unsecured and loaded shotgun.
While playing, the older brother tragically shot his three-year old sister. The girl was taken emergent to a trauma center by Westminster Fire Department personnel, but her injuries were so significant she did not survive. Their mother, Michaela Dawn Harman and another younger sibling were at the home when the accident happened.
Ms. Harman was arrested for Child Abuse Resulting in Death – Criminal Negligence (CRS 18-6-401(7)(A)(2), a class 3 felony. She was booked at the Westminster Police Department and will be transported to the Jefferson County Jail. The children are temporarily in the care of Jefferson County Human Services.
Tragic examples like this remind us of the importance to separate guns and ammunition kept in the home and to secure firearms in a locked safe or utilize other child proof safety devices. Parents have a responsibility to keep children from being able to access firearms, even inside the home.
Michaela Dawn Harman