An estranged father gunned down his seven-year-old daughter from his car before turning the gun on himself.
Mary Shipstone died in hospital after being shot in the head by her father as she returned home from school on Thursday afternoon.
Neighbours claimed to have seen man, who had split up with Mary’s mother, driving around the village of Northiam, near Rye, East Sussex,several times in the days before the shooting.
He is then believed to have turned up at the girl’s house in a blacked-out silver Toyota Rav 4 before stopping and firing a gun out of the window at his daughter.Sussex Police said the man had not yet been formally identified but they believed he is Mary's estranged father Yasser Alromisse. He did not live at the address and was separated from Mary's mother.
Neighbours reported hearing Mary’s mother, named locally as Lyndsey, scream “he’s got a gun” before two shots rang out.
Her father, who has not been named, was found dead slumped in the car outside the house, with a single shot wound to the head.
Mary was flown to hospital in London with life threatening injuries following the attack.
Her mother, who had moved with her daughter to Northiam in April last year, was believed to have been joined at Mary’s bedside by other family members who travelled down from Lancashire after hearing the news.
Sussex Police confirmed his death was not being treated as suspicious and said there was no evidence the public was at risk.
They described the shooting as “a tragic domestic incident.
Detective Chief Inspector Jason Taylor said: "This is a fast-moving investigation and there are still a large amount of inquiries being carried out before we can confirm the full picture of what happened.
"We are currently trying to establish Mr Alromisse's movements over the last few days and are keen to hear from anyone who may have seen or heard from him.
"At this time however, I am not looking for anyone else in connection with this investigation and believe this to be an isolated incident."
Mary's family released a short statement through police. It said: "We are today grieving the death of our beautiful and loving Mary."
Mary, described by neighbours as “absolutely beautiful” and “charming”, was airlifted to the specialist head injuries unit at Kings College Hospital in South London.
The quiet cul-de-sac was cordoned off on Friday morning as the police investigation continued.
Neighbour Helen Barber, 38, who has lived in the road for six years, said: “A neighbour phoned and said a little girl had been shot. I ran out up to the house where it happened and went in. Mary Ann was on the sofa. There was blood everywhere. I couldn’t feel a pulse. I’ve done first aid before and she was showing no signs of life. Her mum was hysterical.”
She added: “What we heard is that the dad drove up to her as she got out of a car on the way home from school, leaned out of the window and shot twice. You don’t see this sort of thing around here. It’s a very quiet neighbourhood.
Mrs Barber said the girl’s mother had a 21-year-old son who was not at home at the time of the shooting but arrived back just 15 minutes later and had to be led away by a neighbour.
Her husband Stuart, 46, said: “I heard a noise. I thought it was a car backfiring or people pheasant shooting. You get used to those sort of noises.
“Then my wife told me what had gone on and I ran out and saw a silver Toyota Rav 4. The back windows were all blacked out. It was driving and then stopped and then there were two shots.
“No one went to the car. Within minutes armed police turned up and surrounded the car.”
The couple claimed they had seen the car driving around the village for about a week.
Beckley Church of England Primary school, where Mary was a pupil, said staff and childre were distraught at the news.
A statement from the school said: “We have received confirmation that the child who was shot is a pupil at our school. This is a dreadfully sad and shocking incident and the whole school community will now be praying for her and her family.”
Another villager, Anthony Burr, 37, said: “At round 4pm, I came back and heard what I thought was a firearm about 200 yards from our house. Then my neighbour, who my kids were playing with, said there were reports that a father had shot his daughter and was still at large.
“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.”
Margaret Bentley, who lived near Mary, said: “She was pretty and she spoke very well. She was just like any other little girl.
“She was extremely fond of cats and I have got two and she used to sometimes stroke mine outside my house. It was my impression that it was just the girl and her mother living together. They only seemed to have been around since this summer. They were very nice.”
Mrs Bentley said she had returned home at around 4.30pm on Thursday to find the village in lockdown.
She said: “I think the ambulance was just leaving with the girl when I got home. There were about 10 police cars and a van and then a bomb squad vehicle arrived. Some of them were in camouflage type uniforms and they had loads of guns and bullet-proof vests on and some had helmets.
“It was a massive presence. It was very scary and horrible to see. We were just told to stay at the front of our houses while they dealt with it.”
Chief Supt Neil Honnor, of Sussex Police, said: “We are treating this as a tragic domestic incident and do not believe that anyone else is involved.
“At this stage we are not in a position to confirm the relationships of all those involved but we can say that the girl and the man knew each other. The man does not live at the address.
“We are treating this as an isolated incident and there is no evidence that any other members of the public are at risk.”
There was speculation on Friday that the couple had been locked in a custody battle. Mr Alromisse had worked as a Community Safety Officer for Uttesford District Council in Essex.
REPORTS FROM TELEGRAPH.CO.UK
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