Boy, 8, who died after being shot in the face on Cumbrian farm identified

The little boy died after being seriously injured by a firearm (Picture: PA)

An eight-year-old boy who was shot and killed near a farm in Cumbria has been identified as Jay Cartmell.

The young boy died Saturday when police were called to Wheatsheaf Farm, near Warcop in Cumbria, following reports a child had been ‘seriously injured by a firearm at the property’.

The boy later passed away in hospital following severe injuries to the head and face, and a man in his 60s has been arrested in connection with the incident.

Cumbria Police said: ‘Jay died after sustaining serious head injuries in an incident on land not far from the A66, north of Warcop.

‘As officers continue with their enquiries into this incident, they are encouraging anyone who may have witnessed the incident or the moments leading up to it to come forward.’

It is believed both the youngster and the shooter were hunting rabbits at the time of the shooting.

A source told The Sun: ‘They had permission to be on the land. There’s been an agreement in place for years for them to rabbit there.’

Footage appears to show detectives scouring a nearby field after an investigation was launched.

Locals said they spotted officers and paramedics ‘purposefully marching’ across a small field off the A66 just moments after the shooting.

Frank Chalmers, 73, said he saw a handful of police cars and an air ambulance at the farm at about 3pm as he was driving past to his house in Brough.

He told the Sun: ‘I was just passing by in the car when I saw the police and an air ambulance.

‘It is the most awful tragedy for the family and the community.’

Two other eyewitnesses reported seeing crime scene investigators in white suits and stick markers about an hour after the emergency services were alerted.

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Another resident, who asked not to be named, described first coming across the incident at about 3pm when heading out towards Penrith.

They said: ‘I saw the medical emergency helicopter in the small field. There’s a level field and then a field rising quite steeply up to where the solitary police car was.

‘It must have just been called in. I think everything was happening at that time.

‘Police had arrived on mass and medics were marching up the field with a purpose.

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