Triple killing shatters Lincolnshire’s calm

File picture: William Hook/Flickr.com

File picture: William Hook/Flickr.com

Published Jul 19, 2016

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London - Three people were shot dead in a normally quiet town in eastern England on Tuesday, with media reporting that a man killed his partner and daughter before turning the gun on himself.

Lincolnshire police said they were not looking for anyone else following the “firearms incident” near a swimming pool and sports complex in the town of Spalding.

“Three people have been fatally wounded, including the suspected offender,” the police force said in a statement.

“There is an ongoing police investigation and at this stage we are not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident.”

The shooter was reported by British media to be delivery driver Lance Hart, 57. He is believed to have killed partner Claire, 50, and 19-year-old daughter Charlotte with a shotgun, before committing suicide.

A neighbour of the family called Hart “a very nice guy, he went out of his way to be helpful”.

“He was full of the joys of spring. His kids had left home and they were going to downsize and find a bungalow in the village,” the neighbour told the Press Association news agency.

A spokeswoman for the local ambulance service said paramedics had treated three patients for gunshot wounds but they were pronounced dead at the scene.

Police urged members of the public to stay away from the area, and local councillor Gary Taylor said the incident had left the community reeling.

“It's terrible news and local people are very shocked,” he told PA.

“It's a very quiet place. Gun crime does not exist in this area at all. It's shocking news.”

In a short statement on its Facebook page, the Castle Sports Complex and Swimming Pool said it was closed “due to an incident in the local area”.

AFP

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