The Elizabethtown Police Department is actively investigating two weekend incidents.
During a press conference at the EPD Sunday, EPD Public Affairs Officer Chris Denham said officers responded to the parking lot of the Elizabethtown Lowe’s shortly after 2:30 a.m. on January 11 after receiving a call that a female had been shot in the chest. Upon arrival, officers found 21-year-old Bryan Harbison of McDaniels administering CPR to a female victim. The victim, and another female juvenile on the scene, were both determined to be 15 years old.
“The Investigation has revealed that Harbison had met the two juvenile females via Snapchat, and prior to coming to pick them up he had purchased alcohol for them, and they were in the parking lot of the Elizabethtown Lowe’s hanging out and consuming the alcohol that he had purchased,” Denham said.
Denham said the investigation shows Harbison and the victim were seated in the back seat of his truck and the other juvenile was in the front seat. Denham said the juvenile admitted in an interview with police she picked up a handgun from inside the vehicle, pointed it at the victim, and pulled the trigger, resulting in the victim being struck in the chest
Denham said the juvenile and Harbison provided differing accounts on how she accessed the gun.
“According to Harbison, the firearm was secured in the glove box,” Denham said. “However, the suspect in the investigation has revealed that she had found the firearm, a 9 millimeter handgun, on the center console of the truck. According to the suspect, Harbison told her that the gun was not loaded. However, that’s unknown.”
The victim was transported to Baptist Health Hardin, where she was pronounced dead.
The juvenile suspect is in custody and has been charged with Murder. Harbison has been charged with first degree Wanton Endangerment and third degree Unlawful Transaction with a Minor. He has been lodged in the Hardin County Detention Center.
Meanwhile, the EPD’s Collision Reconstruction Team is investigating a fatal vehicle collision that occurred Saturday evening. The EPD says the preliminary investigation indicates just before 9 p.m. on January 10 a juvenile male was driving south in a SUV on the 1,000 block of North Dixie Avenue when the vehicle struck a pedestrian who was walking in the vehicle’s lane of travel. The pedestrian, an adult male, was pronounced dead at the scene. The identity of the man is being withheld pending family notification. Denham said Sunday the juvenile driver initially fled the scene but returned with a sibling after reaching his home. The juvenile has been charged with Leaving the Scene of an Accident.
Denham noted that the two incidents are unrelated.
