Sheriff: 14-year-old girl shot in head by neighbor after playing hide-and-seek on his property

(NEW YORK) — A 14-year-old girl was shot in the back of the head by a neighbor after playing hide-and-seek on his property, according to Louisiana authorities.

The shooting unfolded early Sunday morning at a home in Starks, near the Louisiana-Texas border, the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office said.

Several children were playing hide-and-seek in the area and were hiding on a neighbor’s property, the sheriff’s office said.

The property owner, 58-year-old David Doyle, told police he saw “shadows outside his home,” and he went to get his gun, according the sheriff’s office.

When Doyle went back outside, he 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.

Doyle was arrested and charged with aggravated battery, four counts of aggravated assault with a firearm and illegal discharge of a firearm, according to the sheriff’s office.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.