The man who shot Samirria White at point-blank range took her life while holding the most precious part of it — their 3-month-old daughter, prosecutors alleged Monday.

The slaying happened early Easter Sunday, while White’s younger brothers and others were in her St. Paul apartment. The 19-year-old had been excited to dress up her daughter and cook for her family for the holiday.

Now, Samirria White’s 16- and 17-year-old brothers are “living through this, they’re trying to figure out, ‘Why did you hurt my sister?’ ” Shanta White said of her children. “I have no answers.”

White was a go-getter and big dreamer, and that included wanting to build a family with Dimitri Harrell, 21, whom she’d had a relationship with for about three years, her mother said.

Harrell told police that his infidelity to White caused trust issues in their relationship, the criminal complaint said. He reported that White had been shot when his gun accidentally went off, though the Ramsey County attorney’s office charged Harrell with second-degree intentional murder.

There was “an unusually large amount of gunshot residue surrounding the bullet’s entrance wound, indicating Harrell fired the gun within just a few inches” of White’s face, the criminal complaint said.

White, whose first name was pronounced “Sah-MAH-re-ah,” graduated from Humboldt High School last year. She was involved in Junior ROTC, the prom-planning committee and was a cheerleader, Shanta White said.

“She was just a happy, upbeat type of person,” said Iris Andrews, a cousin. White was a popular jokester who was good at motivating people, said Jacorra Andrews, another cousin.

White had obtained her certified nursing assistant license and dreamed of going to college to study forensic science. She worked hard to take care of her daughter, her mother said.

The young woman used to be a food-service employee at Episcopal Homes in St. Paul and, at the time of her death, took care of children at a school’s before- and after-school program.

White was always a mother hen, and that protective nature made her a great mom to daughter Damirria, Jacorra Andrews said.

She loved being a mother, but in recent weeks, Shanta White noticed that her daughter was angry and her focus seemed to be off. She pressed Samirria to find out what was wrong, and the young woman told her about Harrell’s unfaithfulness, Shanta White said.

“She loved that boy with more than her heart,” her mother said. “I told them we need to defuse this issue … we need to sit down and have a conversation and open it up.”

After his arrest, Harrell told police he had two children with another woman — one older and one younger than the baby he had with White, the complaint said. A woman who sought a protective order against Harrell last year indicated she was pregnant with his baby when he assaulted her last April, according to her affidavit.

Samirria White told her mother days before she was killed that Harrell had bought a gun because someone he knew had threatened to kill him, Shanta White said. But Samirria White said “she wanted no part of it in her house,” her mother said.

Harrell told police he had stored the handgun under the baby’s mattress, the complaint said.

Police were called to the shooting in an apartment at 846 Pierce Butler Route, in the Frogtown neighborhood, at 3:37 a.m Sunday. White was pronounced dead inside. Six or seven other people were present.

White’s 16-year-old brother reported that Harrell had come and gone several times that night and White was unhappy about it. She and Harrell had argued in the living room and then went back in the bedroom, the complaint said.

White had told Harrell he was no longer her boyfriend, and he told her to pack his things and he would leave, White’s other brother reported, according to the complaint. They went in the bedroom, where the baby was sleeping, closed the door and continued arguing.

The 16-year-old said he was awakened by arguing. He heard his sister tell Harrell, “Don’t point that gun at me!” and Harrell responded, “Shut the (expletive) up, (expletive),” the complaint said.

White’s brother said he started to get up, heard a gunshot, ran in the bedroom and found Harrell “grabbing” at White, the complaint said. He told Harrell to get away from his sister and Harrell told him he didn’t mean to shoot White.

The bullet entered the lower side of White’s face, went through her head and exited behind her right ear, in a downward trajectory.

Officers found a 49-year-old man at the scene, a friend of Harrell’s, who had a gun, wrapped in a sock, in his pants. He ran from police and later told officers that Harrell had handed him the gun after the shooting, saying, “Do something with this,” according to the complaint.

Harrell later turned himself in to officers. Police confirmed his gun had had two safety features. Harrell told police he accidentally shot White while trying to pull his gun from his pocket while holding their baby.

“He said he purchased the gun several days earlier,” the complaint said. “He knew it had safety features. He said he made sure the safety was on earlier.”

Harrell also reported that White had been “angry and hitting at him,” though “she really didn’t hit” him, the complaint said.

In 2013, Harrell was sentenced to 20 years of supervised probation after he was convicted of burglary. His family couldn’t be reached for comment Monday.

The couple’s baby is being cared for by Samirria White’s older sister, and Shanta White said she’ll soon take responsibility for her granddaughter.

“Whatever happened that night, she didn’t deserve it,” Jacorra Andrews said of her cousin. “There is no excuse for any of that. Damirria has an angel now, but it shouldn’t be this way.”

On Monday night, dozens of people attended a vigil outside White’s apartment building.

Candles were lit and remembrances were placed on a table. Mourners paid tribute to White. And one of her cousins addressed the young women who were present.

“Love don’t love you like this. Love don’t hurt you,” said Ka’Ryn Cummings of St. Paul. “Love yourself and love your body and love your baby enough to do what’s best for you.”

Jaime DeLage contributed to this report. Mara H. Gottfried can be reached at 651-228-5262. Follow her at twitter.com/MaraGottfried.