Louisiana Man Arrested After Shooting 14-Year-Old Girl in the Back of the Head as She Was Playing Hide-and-Seek in His Yard

A Louisiana man is in police custody after they say he shot a 14-year-old girl in the back of the head as she was playing hide-and-seek on his property.

David Van Doyle, 58, has been charged with aggravated battery; 4 counts of aggravated assault with a firearm; and illegal discharge of a firearm.

Police responded to a home in Starks, LA, early Sunday, where they found the teen with a gunshot wound to the back of her head on Van Doyle’s property. Further investigation revealed that several kids, who were recognized as Doyle’s neighbors, were playing hide-and-seek in the vicinity and using the man’s property as a hiding spot.

Van Doyle claims he saw “shadows” outside his home and then went to retrieve his firearm. The man told detections he “went back outside and observed people running away from his property, at which time he began shooting at them and unknowingly hit the girl,” a Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office news release said.

Authorities said the girl was taken to hospital to be treated for non-life threatening injuries.