SALT LAKE CITY — A 7-year-old girl is battling for her life in a Salt Lake City hospital after she and her three sisters were allegedly shot by their mother who then turned the gun on herself.
Police in Wyoming believe 32-year-old Tranyelle Harshman shot her four young daughters on Monday, killing three of them. Harshman survived as did 7-year-old Olivia whose injuries forced officials to transport the girl to Primary Children's Hospital for medical care.
According to a GoFundMe page set up to help raise money for medical and funeral bills, Olivia suffered traumatic brain trauma and is currently in critical condition.
The Big Horn County Sheriff's Office reported it first responded to the shooting at 1:30 p.m. Monday after a 911 call was made by a woman who heard gunshots inside a residence and added that "her daughters had been shot." The woman, later identified as Harshman, told the dispatcher that she could be found upstairs in the house and she was also going to shoot herself.
"The dispatcher pleaded with [Harshman] over the phone for [her] to remain on the line until responding suits arrived," the sheriff's office said in a release. "[Harshman] stated multiple times that she could not do that and that it was too late. Multiple attempts to keep her on the line failed and the call was disconnected."
When deputies arrived at the home, they found two children ages 2 and 9 dead with gunshot wounds to the head and two other children — ages 2 and 7 — also with gunshot wounds to the head but still alive. The two-year-old later died of her injuries.
After first being transported to a hospital in Billings, Montana, Olivia was then airlifted to Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City.
"All prayers and whatever higher faith or power you believe in are appreciated for the family at this time," the GoFundMe shared. "If she does pull through this, she and the family have a very long road ahead of them, a lot of unknown right now."
