A tragic incident unfolded in Byron, Wyoming, where a mother shot her four children, killing three of them before calling 911 and ending her own life.
What Happened?
On Monday, February 10, 32-year-old Tranyelle Harshman shot all four of her daughters inside their home. She then called 911 to report the shooting before turning the gun on herself.
When police arrived at the house on East Shoshone Avenue around 1:30 PM, they found two children already dead: a 2-year-old girl and her 9-year-old half-sister. Two other girls, another 2-year-old and a 7-year-old, were still alive but critically injured. Tragically, the second 2-year-old died shortly after due to severe injuries.
Harshman was taken to North Big Horn Hospital, where she passed away the next day, February 11. The 7-year-old girl was rushed to a hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah, and remains in critical condition with a serious brain injury.
The 911 Call
According to a statement from the Big Horn County Sheriff’s Office, Harshman told the dispatcher that gunshots had been fired inside her home and that her daughters had been shot. When asked about their condition, she said she believed they were dead.
She also described where each child could be found—two upstairs in cribs and two downstairs in a shared bedroom. Before ending the call, she told the dispatcher that she planned to do the same to herself. Despite multiple attempts to keep her on the phone, she disconnected the call.
Community in Shock
Byron is a small town of about 560 residents, located 415 miles northwest of Wyoming’s capital, Cheyenne. The tragic deaths have deeply affected the community.
Mayor Allen Clark expressed his sorrow, saying, “In a small town like this, everyone knows each other. It’s just devastating.”
Neighbors and friends said Harshman had been struggling with postpartum depression. A local resident, Larry Foster, told reporters, “I wish I had known she was going through something. Maybe I could have helped. It’s just terrible.”
Support for the Families
Two GoFundMe pages have been set up to help the grieving families. One was created by the biological father of the older girls to cover funeral and medical costs. The other is to support Harshman’s husband, Cliff Harshman, the father of the two younger children.
This heartbreaking event has left the community in mourning as they try to cope with the devastating loss.
