A 14-year-old girl has sustained injuries and is being treated for a gunshot wound after a Louisiana man shot her while she played hide-and-seek outside his home, police have confirmed.
David Doyle, 58, told officers that he shot bullets outside his home after seeing “shadows outside.” He has been charged with aggravated assault and battery.
On Sunday, police responded to a call about a shooting in a New Orleans suburb. Upon arrival, authorities were told that “several juveniles were playing hide and seek in the area and were hiding on the neighbor’s property,” according to documents from the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office.
Doyle then proceeded to reach for his weapon and opened fire after he “stated he observed shadows outside his home, at which time he went inside and retrieved his firearm,” the press release added.
“He then advised detectives 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.”
Doyle has remained in custody following his arrest. His arraignment has been scheduled for a later date.
The news comes after a string of shootings across the nation involving issues of mistaken identity.
Last month, a Texas man was arrested and charged with deadly conduct with a firearm, a third-degree felony after he shot two teenage cheerleaders who mistakenly thought the suspect’s vehicle was their own in a supermarket parking lot.
The shooting marks one of at least five gun-related shootings due to people who made mistakes, CNN reported. It includes a 6-year-old and her dad who were shot after a basketball rolled into their neighbor’s yard, a 16-year-old who was wounded for ringing the wrong doorbell in Kansas and a 20-year-old who was struck for mistakenly turning into the wrong driveway in New York.
