A 14-year-old girl was playing hide-and-seek in Louisiana when she was shot and wounded. The incident happened on Sunday in the town of Starks, near the border with Texas. The local sheriff’s office said that the girl was found with a gunshot wound to the back of her head, but her injuries were not life-threatening. Police learned that several young people were playing hide-and-seek in the area and were hiding on a neighbor’s property. When the owner of the property, 58-year-old David Doyle, saw shadows outside his home, he went inside, got his firearm, and went back outside where he saw people running away from his property. He began shooting at them and unknowingly hit the girl. Doyle was charged with several counts, including aggravated assault with a weapon.
This shooting is the latest in a series of tragic shootings in the US. In April, a 20-year-old woman was shot and killed in New York state after she accidentally drove into the wrong driveway. In Texas, a man opened fire on cheerleaders after one of them tried to open the door of his car, which she had mistaken for her own vehicle. And in Missouri, a Black 16-year-old was shot and seriously injured after he mistakenly rang the doorbell of the wrong house while picking up his younger siblings.
The United States has more firearms than inhabitants, which contributes to these tragic everyday interactions turning into bloodshed.