Katen Elizabeth Atwell, 15, was fatally shot in the chest in the early morning hours of January 11, 2026, in a Lowe’s parking lot in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. Believed by her parents to be home, Katen instead was with a 15-year-old friend and 21-year-old Bryan Harbison. The group had been drinking alcohol that Harbison later admitted buying for the underage girls.

Accounts differ about how the shooting occurred. The 15-year-old charged in Katen’s murder told authorities Harbison placed a handgun on the center console and said it was not loaded. Harbison said the gun was in his glove compartment and that the teen took it without his knowledge; he said he and Katen were in the backseat when the shot was fired. Harbison, of McDaniels in Breckinridge County, was charged with wanton endangerment and unlawful transaction with a minor and pleaded not guilty. The 15-year-old friend was arrested and charged with murder.

Katen was a Hardin County public school student and a member of Antioch Christian Church at Willisburg. Her family described her as a loving sister who loved country life and big trucks. Funeral services were held the following Saturday and she was cremated per her parents’ wishes.

Did anyone who knew Katen or saw the group that night come forward with additional information?