Boy, 8, dies in UK on rabbit shooting hunt

London [UK], October 18: An eight-year-old boy was killed with a shotgun during a rabbit shooting expedition in England, an inquest hearing was told. Jay Cartmell suffered fatal injuries to his head and face on land near Warcop in Cumbria on September 28. He died in hospital the same day. Dr Nicholas Shaw, assistant coroner for Cumbria, opened and adjourned the inquest into Jay's death during a brief hearing at Cockermouth Coroner's Court, Cumbria. He said the adjournment was to allow police to investigate, with a man in his 60s currently on bail having been arrested at the scene of Jay's death on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.
Dr Shaw said Jay, from Frizington, Cumbria, was rushed by air ambulance to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle for emergency treatment, where he was later pronounced dead. He added: "The brief circumstances, it has been widely reported by the press, Jay sadly sustained a serious injury during a shooting, a rabbit shooting expedition, a suspected shotgun injury and was flown to Newcastle but sadly died. "Police have started an investigation, investigating somebody, possibly for gross negligence manslaughter. At the moment it is left to the police to investigate." (dpa)
Source: Qatar Tribune