David V. Doyle shot and injured a 14-year-old girl, deputies said. (Mugshot: The Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office)
Following a number of similar cases publicized nationwide, a Louisiana man allegedly shot a girl in the back of the head after she was playing hide and seek on his property. Luckily in this case the victim survived with non-life-threatening injuries.
The Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office said deputies were dispatched to a home early Sunday morning in the community of Starks where they found a 14-year-old girl suffering from a gunshot wound to the back of the head. Detectives determined several juveniles were playing hide and seek, hiding on the neighbor’s property, according to the sheriff’s office.
The property owner, David V. Doyle, 58, allegedly said he saw shadows outside his home, “at which time he went inside and retrieved his firearm.” He told detectives that he returned outside, saw people running away from his property, “at which time he began shooting at them and unknowingly hit the girl,” the sheriff’s office said.
The girl was taken to an out-of-town hospital for non-life-threatening injuries, deputies said. Her family told NBC affiliate KPLC that she is, in the words of the outlet, “okay and recovering.” The station said the incident happened on Jimmy Doyle Road, a dead-street street with just three residents: Doyle, the 14-year-old’s family, and a relative of her family.
The 58-year-old was arrested for aggravated battery, illegal discharge of a firearm, and four counts of aggravated assault. He was booked into the Calcasieu Correctional Center on Sunday at 6:45 a.m. and remains locked up, online records show.
This case follows a number of similar, well-publicized cases in which residents allegedly shot innocent young people who ended up on their property.
In Missouri, Andrew D. Lester, 84, allegedly shot Ralph Yarl, 16, in the head and arm when the teenager mistakenly showed up at his home. Yarl intended to go to a friend’s nearby home to pick up his twin younger brothers. He survived, though loved ones said he will face a challenging recovery process.
In New York state, Kevin D. Monahan, 65, allegedly shot and killed Kaylin A. Gillis, 20, when she was the passenger in a car that pulled up in his driveway. She and three other young people were looking for another friend’s home, but they were lost, and the rural area did not have a lot of cellular or internet service, said authorities.
In North Carolina, Robert Louis Singletary, 24, allegedly shot and injured Kinsley White, 6, and her father William White after several young children were playing basketball in a neighborhood and a ball rolled onto his yard. He turned himself in to Florida law enforcement, authorities said.
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