Terrified children see mother and daughter gunned to death

TERRIFIED children watched as a mother and her six-year-old daughter were shot dead by a man in a quiet village cul-de-sac.

The bodies of the pair, who have been named locally as Kaeren Atkins, who was in her late 30s, and her daughter Victoria, were found by police in a cul-de-sac in Horton, near Ilminster, Somerset, at 6.15pm on Tuesday.

They are believed to have been shot dead by a man in his late 50s as they tried to get into a car. The man’s body was found near the scene.

Witnesses said that after shooting the woman through the car windscreen, the man went into the back garden of a nearby house and turned the gun on himself.

Police were unable to confirm reports that the man, from the south Somerset area, was the woman’s former partner.

Officers confirmed that he was known to her, but said he was not her current husband and was not the father of her child.

A resident, who did not wish to be named, said he had seen other children in the back of the car when the woman was shot. “There were other children involved - there were children in the car,” he said. He added: “We knew the little girl. She was a beautiful little blonde haired girl. You could not ask for a sweeter child. Detective Chief Inspector Trevor Margenout confirmed that the body of the dead woman was found in the passenger seat of the car, which, he said, did not belong to her.

When paramedics arrived they found her daughter lying in the road beside the car, still showing signs of life.

They tried to resuscitate her, but she died at the scene, Mr Margenout said.

The officer said another car, believed to belong to the man, was also found. A rifle was recovered from the cul-de-sac, which was cordoned off to allow forensic experts to carry out investigations. Bill Grace, headteacher of the local primary school where Victoria had joined as a Year Two pupil just two weeks ago, said staff and students were shocked by her death.

He said the school, Neroche County Primary, had brought in counsellors to help the children cope with the trauma of the shooting.

Post-mortem examinations were taking place on the bodies of the victims yesterday at a hospital in Bristol, police said.

Formal identification is expected today.

Mr Margenout refused to comment on the exact circumstances of the shooting.

Earlier, he said: “I believe that a number of children may have witnessed some of the events and clearly the police and the community will be working to provide them with some support through the coming days and weeks.”

He added: “Clearly the relationship between the parties involved is the key to this investigation and will lead us to understand how and why this has taken place.”