MIAMI GARDENS, FL — A tragic domestic dispute turned deadly in Miami Gardens early Friday morning when a local woman allegedly shot and killed her husband and injured her teenage son. Authorities have charged Shaneeka Daschell Harris, 39, with second-degree murder and additional charges are pending.
The violent altercation broke out at their townhome on Northwest 46th Avenue, resulting in the death of Aaron Swatts and the wounding of Harris’ 15-year-old son, whose thigh was struck by a bullet. Law enforcement officers were summoned to the scene around 6:40 a.m. following a disturbance call.
Upon arrival, police noted activity in an upstairs window and commanded occupants to exit the building. Harris’ older son, who was unharmed and referred to only by his initials J.T. in legal documents, was the first to comply. He immediately informed officers of his younger brother’s injury and his stepfather’s location inside the home.
Following J.T., Harris and the injured teen emerged, with Harris revealing that Swatts remained inside the dwelling. Police found Swatts unresponsive in the doorway of an upstairs bedroom, suffering from a gunshot wound to his back. He was quickly transported to HCA Florida Aventura Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The wounded teenager received medical care at the same facility before he was released. He was then taken with his brother to police headquarters where they both implicated their mother in the shootings during investigative interviews.
Authorities pieced together the chain of events that led to the gunfire, identifying that an escalating argument between Harris and Swatts precipitated the violence. During the confrontation, Harris is believed to have fired multiple shots, hitting both Swatts and her son. A search of the residence uncovered three shell casings and a black 9 mm Walther CCP handgun loaded with five live rounds.
The initial 911 call was placed by Harris’ unharmed son who alerted dispatchers to the ongoing threat and the presence of the firearm. Dispatch recordings captured a distressed voice, purportedly that of Harris’, stating that her son had been injured during the incident.
Having wed Swatts in 2022, Harris, a mother of four children from a previous relationship, was taken into custody and is being held without bond at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
This incident has shocked the community and left the family wrestling with the devastating outcomes of what began as a domestic argument. Harris now faces a legal process that will delve further into the circumstances leading up to the fatal shooting.