Gerrard Kaonga
A small community in Wyoming is reeling from a terrible tragedy that resulted in the deaths of three of her children.
Police in Byron, Wyoming, suspect that a mother shot herself after attempting to kill her children.
Tranyelle Harshman, 32, reportedly shot four of her children, killing three of them before turning the gun on herself.
Authorities have said that 911 received a call around 1:30 p.m. local time on Monday, (February 10) where a female caller had reported 'gunshots that occurred inside her home and further reported her daughters had been shot'.
Advert
The Big Horn County Sheriff’s Office press release stated: “When dispatchers asked the status of the gunshot victims the female stated that she believed them to be deceased.
“She told them two children would be located upstairs in their cribs and two would be located downstairs in their shared bedroom.
“The caller further stated she could be found in her upstairs bedroom and that she was going to do the same to herself.”
Attempts were made by the dispatcher to keep Harshman on the line, but proved to be unsuccessful.
When the police arrived at the home, they found her 2-year-old and 9-year-old daughters dead.
A 7-year-old and another 2-year-old daughter were found alive, however, the 2-year-old would die at the scene. All four were shot in the head, PEOPLE reports.
Harshman, who was found with a single gunshot wound to her head, was found alive by police, however, she died from her injuries in hospital.
The 7-year-old girl was taken to a local hospital where she was 'provided advanced life support' before being airlifted another hospital for an 'advanced level of care', as per the release.
Earlier this week, Byron Mayor Allen Clark spoke to the media of how the community was stunned by this tragedy.
He said (via The Scripps News Group): “When you’re in a small community like this, you know, everyone rubs shoulders with everyone. It’s just devastating.
“I just hope and pray that the family can endure and hopefully brighter days ahead. I don’t want to dwell on what has happened, we want to dwell on what is next.”
A GoFundMe page has been set up for Harshman’s husband and father of the two youngest girls, Cliff.
Cliff has since spoken out about the horrific situation, telling Cowboy State Daily that his wife 'is not a monster' and she'd been receiving treatment for mental health issues, which included PTSD and postpartum depression.
He said: "My wife is not a monster. Most people don’t understand how that affects the brain. It’s a chemical imbalance … And it can be exacerbated by trying to fix it with medication.”
He continued: "This is so out of character. It’s unbelievable what had happened. We’d been getting her help, and along the way something didn’t work.
"As angry as I may be with her, I still love her — and I still lost her as well."