A man allegedly shot a 14-year-old girl who was playing hide and seek on their quiet cul-de-sac.
David V Doyle, 58, allegedly told law enforcement that he had “unknowingly” hit the girl after seeing shadows and opening fire in the direction of a group of people running away from his home.
It later emerged that this group were children playing hide and seek.
Police were called out to the shocking incident on Saturday in the small neighbourhood of, Starks, in the US state of Lousiana.
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When they found the wounded teenage girl, they were informed that children has been hiding on a neighbour’s property.
The Sheriff’s Office said: “When detectives spoke with the property owner, David V. Doyle, 58, [of] Starks, he stated he observed shadows outside his home, at which time he went inside and retrieved his firearm.”
Doyle told investigators that he went outside and started firing his weapon at the people he saw running away.
The girl suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to hospital.
Her family told a local NBC affiliate that she was “okay and recovering”.
They also reported that the neighbourhood where the shooting took place “is a dead-end road with only three residents: Doyle, the victim’s family and a relative to the victim’s family”.
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The 58-year-old property owner has been charged with aggravated battery, four counts of aggravated assault with a firearm and illegal discharge of a firearm.
He remained in custody on Monday night as police continue to investigate.
Firearm-related crime has long been a big problem in the US.
In recent months, incidents involving young people being shot have been seemingly more common.
Louisiana’s ‘stand your ground law’ can justify the use of deadly force – if it is an act of self-defence, involves preventing a violent crime – or if someone is making an unlawful entry into a home.
In April, 16-year-old Ralph Yarl was shot in Kansas when he went to the wrong address to pick up his two younger brothers. Fortunately, he survived and has since been recovering at home.
Two days after this incident, 20-year-old Kaylin Gillis was killed by a 65-year-old man in New York after she pulled up on his driveway while looking for a friend’s house.
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