Haylee Garrison was an 8-year-old girl from Pekin, Illinois, who died after an accidental shooting on April 7, 2017. While playing in a bedroom with her cousin, the children found a handgun; the cousin, not realizing it was loaded, accidentally shot Haylee in the throat. She was taken to OSF St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria, remained unresponsive on life support, and died on April 11, 2017, which was her ninth birthday.

Haylee’s parents, Terry and Veronica Garrison, were charged with endangering the life and safety of a child in connection with the incident. They pleaded guilty and received a year of conditional discharge; the court noted the family’s suffering and chose not to impose additional punishment. The Garrisons’ felony convictions now bar them from purchasing or possessing firearms.

L.E. Starke Primary School provided extra counselors and comfort dogs after Haylee’s death, and the community held a balloon release and other events in her memory.