BIG HORN COUNTY, Wyo. (TCN) — A 32-year-old mother allegedly shot her four young daughters, called 911 to report the shooting, and then turned the gun on herself.
The Big Horn County Sheriff’s Office Public Safety Communications Center received the mother’s call on the afternoon of Feb. 10. She reported gunshots and told authorities she believed her daughters had been killed.
The mother, identified by KRTV-TV as Tranyelle Harshman, said two of the victims were upstairs in their cribs, and two children were in their shared bedroom. Harshman allegedly also told police she was going to shoot herself and that she would be in her upstairs bedroom.
According the the sheriff’s office, the dispatcher “pleaded” with Harshman to “remain on the line until responding units arrived,” but she said “multiple times that she could not do that and that it was too late.” The call was eventually disconnected.
While on the phone, dispatchers had units respond, and they made entry into the home.
Law enforcement cleared the residence and found two female children, ages 2 and 9, deceased with gunshot wounds to the head. They also located two other female children, ages 2 and 7, still alive with gunshot wounds to the head. Despite lifesaving measures, the 2-year-old succumbed to her injuries.
Authorities found Harshman with a single gunshot wound to the head in the upstairs bedroom, and responding officers attempting lifesaving measures. The surviving 7-year-old and her mother were transported to the hospital, where Harshman later died, KRTV reports. Family members told the news source the 7-year-old remains hospitalized in Salt Lake City.