Burnsville mom says son, 8, was killed by his father while boy tried to keep her from being shot

A Burnsville woman said her 8-year-old son was shot to death by his father in their home last week while the boy was trying to protect her.

Amir Demarion Harden was shot in the head and neck on June 5 and died Sunday at HCMC, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office said. The father, 30-year-old Danair Harden, then was shot in an apparent attempt to kill himself, police said.

Danair Harden was in court earlier that day on charges that he assaulted the boy’s mother, Cherish Edwards, on May 30. He was arrested, jailed then freed on $4,000 bail in the afternoon before the shooting. Prosecutors asked for bail to be set at $10,000.

Burnsville police and fire personnel were alerted to the shooting in the family’s apartment in the 13800 block of Echo Lake Drive, city spokeswoman Carissa Larsen said.

Officers found Harden and his son both with gunshot wounds, police said. They were taken by emergency responders to HCMC, according to police.

A hospital spokeswoman said that Danair Harden remained in critical condition late Tuesday afternoon.

Larsen said the incident appears to have been connected to a “domestic family issue,” but she had no further specifics.

“We don’t know that the child was an intended target, and that’s part of what is still under investigation,” Larsen said, adding that other people were present at the time.

An account from the boy’s mother is consistent with what police have disclosed so far.

“His father tried to shoot & kill me, but my son was shot instead,” Cherish Edwards wrote in an online fundraiser for the family’s expenses related to the shooting. “Amir tried wrestling the gun out of his father’s hand. I screamed for him to leave and go to the neighbors. He refused & said ‘mommy, I’m not leaving you here.’”

“His 4 siblings witnessed this tragic event,” Edwards continued. “My kids are traumatized & probably will need therapy for the rest of their lives. Thank you to anyone who donates.”

Harden was in Dakota County District Court on the morning before the shooting to answer charges that he choked Edwards in their home on May 30 after she told him she wanted to end their 10-year relationship. He tried to stop her from calling for help and fled before police arrived, according to gross misdemeanor and misdemeanor counts of interfering with an emergency call, domestic assault and disorderly conduct.

Edwards told the officers that Harden has a permit to carry a gun and almost always has one with him.

She was “concerned that [an assault] would happen again,” the charges read. “[She] advised that there have been other domestic disputes between her and the defendant several times many years ago.”

Law enforcement caught up to Harden and booked him into jail shortly before 3 a.m. the day of the shooting.

During the hearing late that morning, prosecutors told the court that Harden “poses an immediate threat to [Edwards’] safety” and requested an immediate no-contact order be issued. “He follows or spies on her or leaves threatening messages,” they told the court.

The prosecutors also asked for bail to be set at $10,000 with conditions that he stay away from Edwards’ apartment, have no contact with her, not possess a gun and turn in all firearms to law enforcement.

Judge Dannia Edwards set bail at $4,000, and Harden left the jail at 4:50 p.m., about seven hours before Amir was killed.

Star Tribune staff writer Louis Krauss contributed to this report.