Man facing federal charge in connection to shooting death of 7-year-old girl

Harmony was shot and killed at the Napier Homes on June 6.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, 27-year-old Anthony Sanders has been arrested for being a convicted felon with a firearm. Police say his gun was used to kill the 7-year-old.

The ATF and the Metro Nashville Police Department arrested Sanders on Wednesday at the U.S. Attorney's Office.

The complaint says Harmony's 2-year-old cousin got Sanders' gun and accidentally shot the girl. Sanders came inside the home, saw the girl lying on the floor and took the gun. He allegedly ran away, saying he could not go back to prison.

Sanders served an eight-year prison sentence for kidnapping. He was just released in June of last year, yet the U.S. Attorney's Office says he often carried guns and left them around children, even though he had been told not to have deadly weapons in the home with kids.

U.S. Attorney Jack Smith said the magnitude of the tragedy prompted the feds to aggressively pursue charges.

Sanders was in federal court for an initial appearance on Thursday morning.

Channel 4 will have more in this story coming up on Channel 4 News at 4:00.