International- Police said a Louisiana man shot and injured a teen girl playing hide-and-seek on his property.
- The suspect told investigators that he saw "shadows outside his home," prompting him to get his gun.
Police said this week that a Louisiana man shot a 14-year-old girl in the head as she and other kids were playing a game of hide-and-seek on his property, marking the latest in a recent string of unprovoked shootings across the country that have made headlines.
Homeowner David Doyle, 58, was arrested on charges of aggravated battery, four counts of aggravated assault with a firearm, and the illegal discharge of a firearm in connection to the early Sunday morning incident in the small community of Starks, Louisiana, authorities said.
When deputies with the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Office were called to Doyle's home, they discovered the teen girl with a gunshot wound to the back of her head, officials said.
Investigators found that "several juveniles were playing hide and seek in the area and were hiding on the neighbor's property," the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Office said in a statement.
Authorities said that Doyle told investigators that he saw "shadows outside his home," prompting him to go inside and get his firearm.
"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," the sheriff's office said.
The teen victim, whose identity was not released by police, was rushed to an out-of-town hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to authorities.
Doyle was arrested and booked into the Calcasieu Correctional Center, the sheriff's office said.
Family members of the shot teenager told KPLC 7 News that the victim is recovering. The news outlet reported that the shooting happened on a dead-end road where only Doyle, the victim's family, and a relative of the victim live.
The incident comes after a series of similar shootings in which several people, including teenagers, were gunned down in unprovoked attacks across the US.
Last month, a 65-year-old Florida man shot and wounded a teenager who drove an ATV past his property.
Earlier on April 13, an 85-year-old man shot and injured a 16-year-old Black boy in Missouri when the teen mistakenly rang the wrong doorbell.
Two days later, a 20-year-old woman was fatally shot in New York by a 65-year-old man when she pulled into the wrong driveway.
On April 18, two Texas high school cheerleaders were shot and injured after one of them mistakenly got into the wrong car while the teens were on their way home from practice.