The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Tributes paid to girl shot dead by her dad
Police: He killed both his wife and daughter
A 19-year-old girl believed to have been shot dead by her father was an “exemplary student”, her former school said.
Charlotte Hart and her mother Claire, 50, were killed near the Castle Swimming Pool in the Lincolnshire village of SpaldingonTuesday. LanceHart, 57, is believed to have shot the pair dead with a shotgun before turning the weapon on himself.
Spalding High School, where Charlotte studied between 2008 and 2015, was “deeply shocked and saddened to hear of the tragic death”.
The school said: “She was an exemplary student in every way, who showed incredible kindness and empathy towards others. Charlotte had many close friends and her polite and caring nature endeared her to all who met her.
“Charlotte was incredibly driven to achieve her dream of studying midwifery at university and was successful in the extremely competitive interview process, where her qualities shone through.”
Flowers have been left to the mother and daughter outside the family home in HattClose in the nearby village of Moulton. One said: “Claire and Charlotte, two beautiful lives taken too early. Sleep peacefully you lovely girls.”
One neighbour describedMrHart as a “very nice guy”, “full of the joys of spring”. The resident, who gave his name as Peter, said: “Lance worked as a delivery driver for a builders’merchants– we’ve had quite a bit of stuff from them – but he was caring andwouldcomearound afterwards to see whether we could carry stuff.
“Last time Ispoke tohim, hehadput the houseonthe market because they were hoping to downsize, buy somewhere in the village. He was a very nice guy, he went out of his way to be helpful so it comes as a great shock.
“He was full of the joys of spring. His kids had left home and they were going todownsizeandfind abungalow in the village.”
Witnesses reported hearing “dozens” of police cars and an air ambulance heading to the scene after the shooting at 9am on Tuesday, as officers and paramedics battled to save the two women who had suffered “serious injuries”.