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The distraught mother called 911 saying her 2-year-old son had fallen from a chair at their Rio Rancho home and “there was blood everywhere,” according to court records. She could be heard begging the boy to breathe.
The husband, Santa Fe Police Department officer Jonathan Harmon, told a dispatcher he was unsure where the blood came from. He said the boy must have hit his teeth because a few were missing.
When officers arrived, the cause was apparently clear: a spent casing and projectile were found near Lincoln Harmon, who died from a gunshot wound. A gun holster was on the kitchen counter and the mother told police the firearm had been placed in a nearby cabinet.
A search warrant affidavit filed Dec. 9 in 13th Judicial District Court lays out the details of the Dec. 8 incident in an upscale neighborhood on the western end of Rio Rancho. Officers seized multiple guns, a holster, shell casing and tooth from the home.
For reasons unknown, the Rio Rancho Police Department did not disclose the death until more than a day afterward. When asked why the delay, Capt. Joel Holt did not respond.
“At present, it is considered an ongoing investigation and, therefore, no determination regarding criminal violations or other disposition has been made,” Holt said in a Dec. 10 news release.
On Tuesday, he said there were no updates.
By Wednesday, a GoFundMe for Lincoln Harmon’s Celebration of Life, with a goal of $8,000, had raised more than $24,000. The family could not be reached by phone.
According to the search warrant affidavit:
On Dec. 8, Courtney Harmon called 911 at 8:37 a.m. saying her son had fallen from a chair at their home in the 5700 block of Sandoval NE.
She told dispatch that the boy was “not awake” and her husband was doing CPR – she could be heard crying and pleading with Jonathan.
Her husband then got on the phone and told a dispatcher he was unsure where the blood was coming from, but the boy “must have hit his teeth because a couple of teeth were missing.”
Arriving officers saw a shell casing and projectile near the boy, and a tan gun holster on the kitchen counter.
Officers seized a projectile, shell casing, gun holster, two Glock pistols, two AR-15 rifles, ammunition and a child’s tooth.
