Schoolgirl, 7, was shot in the head by her estranged father

A seven-year-old schoolgirl was shot in the head by her estranged father as she clutched her new violin on the doorstep of her home, an inquest heard.
Mary Ann Shipstone, who was also known as Maryam Alromisse, was gunned down as she stood next to her mother on the doorstep of her home in Northiam, near Rye, East Sussex, after she returned from school.
Her father Yasser Alromisse, 46, was hiding in the rear of a silver Toyota on the drive at the £300,000 house when he fired the shots on September 11 last year, a court heard. The schoolgirl, who was just days away from celebrating her eighth birthday, was taken to King's College Hospital in London but later died of her injuries. Hastings Coroner's Court was told her father had concealed himself in the car by creating a blind from bin bags and was later found in a pool of blood in the rear of the vehicle, where he had shot himself in the head.
Her mother Lyndsey Shipstone today described the day of the shooting, telling an inquest it had been 'ordinary', but that Mary was 'very happy' and 'excited' about her birthday in seven days' time. Mrs Shipstone had been driven by a neighbour to collect Mary from school where the youngster had enjoyed her first violin lesson. They parked up at their neighbour's and walked back towards their house before the incident occurred. She told the court: 'I was putting my key in the door, and I spoke to Mary, saying she'd like what I had done to her room, and that's the last thing I said to her.' She said Mary was stood slightly behind her when she heard a loud noise. She added: 'There was a terrific sound behind me like someone had burst a balloon.
'I turned around and the first thing I saw was Mary on the ground - her legs were crumpled behind