Schoolgirl shot in head fights for life

A YOUNG girl was fighting for life last night after she was shot in the head by her father, who then killed himself.

The gunman had opened fire after going to his former partner’s home in the village of Northiam, near Rye, East Sussex, shortly after the child would have finished school yesterday.

His body was found in a car parked outside after armed police rushed to the area.

The child, whose age has not been disclosed but was said to be eight, is in a lifethreatening condition at a London hospital.

Police are treating it as a “tragic domestic incident” and said they were not treating the man’s death as suspicious.

One villager, Anthony Burr, a 37-year-old public relations consultant, said he heard shots being fired near his home.

He said: “Obviously there was panic across Northiam, we all went into lockdown, shut doors, got the children in.

“What appears to have transpired is that a father has gone to his ex’s house where his daughter lives and has shot her.”

A heavy police presence remained in the village, which has a population of just over 2000, as the scene of the shooting was sealed off for detailed investigation.

Local divisional commander, chief superintendent Neil Honnor, said nobody else was involved.

He said: “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.”