Boy, 8, who died after being shot in the face on a farm in Cumbria

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

The boy later died in hospital after serious head and facial injuries, and a man in his 60s has been arrested in connection with the incident.

Cumbria Police said: ‘Jay died after suffering serious head injuries in an incident in land just off the A66, north of Warcop.

“As officers continue their investigation 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 that both the youth 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 has been an agreement for years that they will hunt there.’

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

Locals said they saw officers and paramedics marching ‘purposefully’ across a small field along the A66 shortly after the shooting.

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

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 terrible tragedy for the family and the community.”

Two other eyewitnesses reported seeing crime scene investigators wearing white suits and highlighters about an hour after emergency services were alerted.

Another resident, who asked not to be named, first described the incident at around 3pm as he drove towards Penrith.

They said, “I saw the emergency medical helicopter in the small field. There is a flat field and then a field that goes up quite steeply to where the lone police car was.

‘It must have just been called. I think everything happened at that moment.

‘The police had arrived en masse and medics marched onto the field with a purpose.

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