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| Six-year-old girl gravely ill after shooting | Six-year-old girl gravely ill after shooting |
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| A seven-year-old girl is gravely ill in hospital after it is believed she was shot in the head by her father who apparently then killed himself. | |
| Villagers in Northiam, near Rye, East Sussex, said the man turned up at his ex-partner's home before opening fire at about 4pm on Thursday. Armed officers who went to the scene in Spring Hill found a man's body in a car parked outside. | Villagers in Northiam, near Rye, East Sussex, said the man turned up at his ex-partner's home before opening fire at about 4pm on Thursday. Armed officers who went to the scene in Spring Hill found a man's body in a car parked outside. |
| Sussex police said on Thursday night the girl was in a life-threatening condition with a gunshot wound in King's College Hospital, London. On Friday morning a spokesman said the girl remained "gravely ill". | Sussex police said on Thursday night the girl was in a life-threatening condition with a gunshot wound in King's College Hospital, London. On Friday morning a spokesman said the girl remained "gravely ill". |
| Officers said they believed the shooting was a "tragic domestic incident" and they were not treating the man's death as suspicious. | Officers said they believed the shooting was a "tragic domestic incident" and they were not treating the man's death as suspicious. |
| One villager, Anthony Burr, said he had heard that a man went to his former partner's home and shot his daughter. | One villager, Anthony Burr, said he had heard that a man went to his former partner's home and shot his daughter. |
| Burr, 37, who works in public relations, said: "At around 4pm, I came back and heard what I thought was a firearm about 200 yards from our house. Then my neighbour, who my kids were playing with, said there were reports that a father had shot his daughter and was still at large. | Burr, 37, who works in public relations, said: "At around 4pm, I came back and heard what I thought was a firearm about 200 yards from our house. Then my neighbour, who my kids were playing with, said there were reports that a father had shot his daughter and was still at large. |
| "Then I started to get reports that he had shot himself. What appears to have transpired is that a father has gone to his ex's house where his daughter lives and has shot her. This has all come from neighbours and eyewitnesses." | "Then I started to get reports that he had shot himself. What appears to have transpired is that a father has gone to his ex's house where his daughter lives and has shot her. This has all come from neighbours and eyewitnesses." |
| Another neighbour, Susie Clements, told the Daily Mirror that her son Ricky heard a woman screaming: "He's got a gun, he's got a gun," before two shots rang out. | Another neighbour, Susie Clements, told the Daily Mirror that her son Ricky heard a woman screaming: "He's got a gun, he's got a gun," before two shots rang out. |
| The girl was a pupil at Beckley Church of England primary school in nearby Rye. A spokeswoman for the school said: "We have received confirmation that the child who was shot is a pupil at our school. This is a dreadfully sad and shocking incident and the whole school community will be praying for her and her family." | |
| There was a heavy police presence in the village, and the scene of the shooting was sealed off for detailed investigation. Ch Supt Neil Honnor, of Sussex police, said: "We are treating this as a tragic domestic incident and do not believe that anyone else is involved. | |
| "At this stage we are not in a position to confirm the relationships of all those involved but we can say that the girl and the man knew each other. The man does not live at the address. We are treating this as an isolated incident and there is no evidence that any other members of the public are at risk." | "At this stage we are not in a position to confirm the relationships of all those involved but we can say that the girl and the man knew each other. The man does not live at the address. We are treating this as an isolated incident and there is no evidence that any other members of the public are at risk." |