14-year-old shot by neighbor while playing hide-and-seek on his property, deputies say

LAKE CHARLES, La. — Deputies arrested a 58-year-old man after he shot at kids playing hide-and-seek on his property, striking a 14-year-old girl in the head, officials said.

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The Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of the shooting at a home in Starks early on Sunday morning. The homeowner, identified as David Van Doyle, told detectives that he saw shadows outside his home and went inside to get his firearm. He said that when he went back outside, he “observed people running away from his property” and he opened fire, deputies said.

A girl was hit in the back of the head and taken to a hospital. Authorities said she had wounds that did not appear to be life-threatening.

Investigators determined that several children were hiding on Doyle’s property while playing hide-and-seek. Deputies arrested Doyle on one count of aggravated battery, four counts of aggravated assault with a firearm and one count of illegal discharge of a firearm. Jail records showed he remained in custody at the Calcasieu Correctional Center on Tuesday.

The shooting comes after a string of similar incidents in which people have opened fire on people who have made seemingly innocent mistakes.

On the morning of April 18, two members of a competitive cheerleading team were shot in Texas after officials said they mistakenly tried to get into the wrong car after practice.

Kaylin Gillis, 20, was shot dead on April 15 after she accidentally turned into the wrong driveway while looking for a friend’s home in upstate New York, authorities said.

Officials in Missouri said Andrew Lester, 84, shot and seriously injured Ralph Yarl, 16, on the night of April 13 after the teenager rang his doorbell while trying to pick up his twin siblings from a friend’s home. Investigators said Yarl mistook Lester’s home for the one where his siblings were, which was about a block away.