8-Year-Old Boy Shot By Father While Protecting Mother From Him, Family Says

An 8-year-old Minnesota boy died on Sunday after shielding his mother from a shooting allegedly committed by his father, his family said.

Danair Harden, 30, allegedly shot his son, Amir Harden, on June 5, according to the Star Tribune. The boy was rushed to a local hospital in Hennepin County but days later died of his injuries.

According to the Star Tribune, Harden was in Dakota County District Court earlier that day on domestic violence charges. He’d allegedly choked Cherish Edwards, Amir Harden’s mother, in their home days before the shooting.

Edwards had told police that she was concerned that Harden would assault her again, as there had been been several other domestic disputes between them years ago, according to a charging document cited by the outlet. She also told officers that Harden had a permit to carry a gun and often had one with him.

A spokesperson for the Burnsville Police Department told HuffPost in an email that “authorities believe there was a family situation that led up to the incident,” adding that there other people inside the home at the time.

Edwards provided more detail on the shooting in aGoFundMe.

She said she was Harden’s initial target, but her son tried to wrestle the gun out of his father’s hand and was shot instead.

“I screamed for him to leave and go to the neighbors, he refused & said ‘mommy, im not leaving you here’,” Edwards wrote.

Harden shot himself in the head immediately after shooting his son, according to the fundraiser.

In an interview with local news station KSTP, Edwards said that Amir’s four siblings were home at the time of the shooting and witnessed their brother getting shot. She opened up to the outlet about the guilt she feels as well as grief following Amir’s