Dad in "custody dispute" shoots 8-year-old daughter in the head; girl in life threatening condition (United Kingdom)

Once again, we see how for too many fathers, fighting for custody is a way to exert his control and punish the mother. Failing that, shooting the kid works for these sickos too.

UNNAMED DAD

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2752518/BREAKING-NEWS-Armed-police-swarm-quiet-Sussex-village-man-shoots-daughter-kills.html

Girl, 8, fights for life after 'dad shoots her in head then kills himself'

•There are reports a man shot his daughter then himself in village of Northiam •The girl, believed to be eight, was flown to a London hospital
•Armed police swarmed village, which one resident said was 'on lockdown'
•Man reportedly went to his former partner's home and shot youngster

By Sam Webb for MailOnline and Mario Ledwith For Daily Mail

Published: 12:54 EST, 11 September 2014 | Updated: 18:41 EST, 11 September 2014

A father yesterday shot his eight-year-old daughter in the head as she played before turning the gun on himself.

Terrified neighbours heard the girl’s mother – who is separated from the father – scream ‘he’s got a gun’ before two shots rang out.

The girl, who had been playing outside her home, was taken to hospital but last night her condition was described as ‘life-threatening’.

Her father was pronounced dead at the scene in the village of Northiam, East Sussex, with a single gunshot wound to the head.

When armed police arrived they found the father’s body slumped in his car outside the house.

Officers last night described the incident as ‘domestic’ and residents claimed the couple may have been involved in a custody battle over their daughter.

One said: ‘They have only been in the village for a year and I’ve never seen a father around.

‘I’ve heard there may have been an ongoing custody dispute.’

Residents expressed their shock at yesterday afternoon’s devastating events in the normally peaceful village.

They described the daughter as ‘absolutely beautiful’ and ‘incredibly charming’.

Neighbours claimed the girl’s father was no longer in a relationship with her mother, but that he had returned to the house.

She said the girl walked to school with her mother every day and that the pair had only lived in the neighbourhood for just over a year, adding: ‘This sort of thing just does not happen around here.

'We can’t quite believe it.’

Anthony Burr, 37, who runs a public relations agency, said panic swept the neighbourhood when people realised somebody had shot a young girl. He added: ‘I was in the garden when I heard the shots and shortly after, my friend came over and told me that my children were locked in his house.

‘We thought at that point that a gunman was on the loose, so you can imagine the panic that swept the neighbourhood. Then I started to get reports that he had shot himself.

‘What appears to have transpired is that a father has gone to his ex’s house where his daughter lives and has shot her.’

Writing on Twitter, Izzy Simmons said: ‘12 police cars, two undercover cars and two ambulances, just hope the little girl or her mum whoever has been shot is okay. The whole village has gone grey.’

Another resident said his mother ran to the scene and lifted the girl in to her house, laying her on the sofa before phoning 999.

The girl was taken to King’s College Hospital in London.

Neighbours said the police took at least 15 minutes to get to the scene as it is ‘in the middle of nowhere’.

The upmarket village is situated 12 miles from Hastings on England’s south coast.

A Sussex Police spokesman said: ‘One person suffered a gunshot wound and was taken to hospital for treatment.

‘The body of a man was found at the scene in Northiam.

‘His death is not being treated as suspicious.’

A man who lives close to where the incident, which took place between 6pm and 8pm, said the village was 'on lockdown' and armed police were 'everywhere'.

He added: 'There was a stand-off, the whole village was terrified. He then shot himself and we think he's dead.

'Both (the man and his daughter) have been taken away.

'This is leafy, rural Sussex. This is not the kind of thing that goes on here.'

Dru Riches-Magnier tweeted: 'I've heard several rumours and was walking my dog when people said they heard a shot near Cavix Field...doors locked.'

Twitter user Izzy Simmons wrote that there were 12 police cars, two undercover cars and two ambulances at the scene.

She added: 'Cannot believe this is all happening in Northiam AND in my old house!

'The whole village has gone grey. Everyone's talking and everyone's praying... poor family.' .