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An Ohio grandmother, who admitted to shooting her 5-month-old granddaughter in the face, was sentenced to nine to twelve years in prison on Tuesday, October 29. Mia Harris, who had pleaded guilty to charges of felonious assault earlier in October, faced the emotional testimony of her family in the courtroom as they recounted the trauma inflicted by the incident.
During sentencing, Destiny Buffington, the mother of the injured child and Harris’ daughter-in-law, shared the impact of the tragedy. “What you did will never go away,” Buffington said, expressing the long-lasting effects on her family. “She will never have a grandma again. You took that from her. You took me having a mother-in-law. You took everything away from me…I had to plead for my life, and then you shot my daughter in front of me, WXIX reported.
That will never go away, and I stand here today 10 times stronger than the woman I was a year ago.” The shooting took place on December 9, 2023, at a townhouse in Liberty Township, Ohio. Police responded around 1:50 a.m. after receiving a report of “an infant being shot,” according to a press release from the Butler County Sheriff’s Office.
When officers arrived, they discovered the baby girl suffering from a gunshot wound to the head. She was immediately transported to UC West Chester Hospital in critical condition. Authorities reported that Harris fled the scene after the shooting, but was later apprehended without incident. According to the sheriff’s office, “Mia Harris, the grandmother of the child, was identified by witnesses as the shooter.
During the incident, Harris shot at several family members before intentionally shooting the child.” Harris reportedly broke down a locked bedroom door after firing multiple shots through it. Once inside, she allegedly shot her granddaughter in the head at close range as the baby lay on a bed, per Dayton247Now.
Buffington spoke about the devastating consequences her daughter now faces due to the shooting. After spending 65 days in the hospital, the child continues to face serious health challenges. “She will have seizures and special needs for the rest of her life,” Buffington said, highlighting the ongoing impacts of the violent incident.
In Harris’s defense, her attorneys argued that she had experienced a severe mental health episode at the time of the incident. “Call it a breakdown, call it a mental breakdown… she just snapped,” Harris
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
