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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
Frances Perraudin North of England reporter

Four-year-old girl shot in head with arrow

Leeds general infirmary, West Yorkshire, where doctors are treating a young girl injured by bow and arrow.
Leeds general infirmary, West Yorkshire, where doctors are treating a girl injured by bow and arrow. Photograph: Anna Gowthorpe/PA

A four-year-old girl is in a serious condition in hospital after being shot in the head by an arrow. She was treated, after the incident on Saturday, first by paramedics then taken to Leeds general infirmary by air ambulance. Police said the girl was in a serious condition after surgery, although she was taken off life support on Tuesday.

West Yorkshire police were called to a property in Illingworth, Halifax, at about 12.44pm Saturday, after a report that a child had been injured with a bow and arrow at her family home.

DI Gary Stephenson, of Calderdale district CID, said inquiries were trying to determine precisely how the girl came to be injured.

“Our investigations suggest she was not intentionally injured and an 18-year-old male is assisting us with our inquiries,” he said. “Specially trained officers are working to support her family as our investigations continue.”

A friend of the family, who asked not to be named, described the incident as a “tragic accident” and added: “She’s doing brilliant at the moment and was taken of her life support machine.”

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