Milwaukee toddler shot, wounded; mother sentenced to 2 years prison
Krystal Harris
MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee County judge sentenced Krystal Harris on Thursday, Aug. 1 to two years in prison plus an additional three years of extended supervision in connection with the March 2023 shooting and wounding of a 2-year-old boy, her own son.
Online court records show Harris pleaded guilty in June to two of three charges against her – possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and neglecting a child (consequence is bodily harm). A third misdemeanor charge was dismissed and read into the court record for the purposes of sentencing.
Case details
According to the criminal complaint, Milwaukee police officers responded early Sunday, March 26, 2023 to a home near 26th and Locust to investigate a shooting. The victim, a 2-year-old boy, was taken to Children's Wisconsin for a gunshot wound to his left hand.
Shooting near 26th and Locust, Milwaukee
The complaint says the defendant, Harris, "owned a 9mm semi-automatic handgun that she stored in the closet of her bedroom." Around 4 a.m., the complaint says Harris was asleep in her bed and the 2-year-old was in her bedroom with another child. The 2-year-old "obtained the firearm from the closet and (the other child) attempted to get it away from him. (The child) was shot in the hand at some point when one or both of the boys were handling the firearm," the complaint says. The court document says Harris called for an ambulance and "removed the firearm from the area, placing it in a laundry room."
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Milwaukee police recovered a handgun with a magazine capable of holding seven cartridges inserted, but only loaded with six cartridges. "A spent casing was stuck in the barrel of the firearm," the complaint says.
During an in-custody interview, Harris told police "she was in possession of a firearm that she kept in a bucket in her closet. Harris explained that she was risen from her sleep by the gunshot and then saw (the child's) hand was bleeding," the complaint says.