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11-Year-Old Charged With Murder After Man, Woman Shot In NH

ALTON, N.H. (CBS) -- A woman is dead and a man is in critical condition after they were allegedly shot by an 11-year-old in Alton, New Hampshire Friday morning.

Investigators still had the road closed off Friday night as they try to figure out what led the juvenile to allegedly shoot a husband and wife who friends call the kindest people you'll ever meet.

alton new hampshire shooting
New Hampshire State Police at the home in Alton after the shooting, March 15, 2019. (WBZ-TV)

The community is mourning the loss of a devoted mother. "Shock, sad, grieving, grateful for our community here," said Gertrude Hammond of St. Katharine Drexel Parish. "This is a family that we love."

Officials say 50-year-old Lizette Eckert was shot and killed Friday morning on her property in Alton. Her husband Jim, was shot and critically injured. An 11-year-old is arrested and charged with the crime.

"I think it goes without saying that this is an incredibly tragic incident, with a child involved," said NH Senior Assistant Attorney General Geoffrey Ward.

Family friends tell WBZ the couple and their three kids moved to Alton, New Hampshire from Maine just a few years ago. They have one daughter and two sons, and home-schooled all their children on the family farm.

"As far as I was aware, a beautiful family," Hammond said.

Police found the 11-year-old nearly two hours after the shootings and charged them with reckless second degree murder and attempted murder.

Friday night they continued to search the family property as the community grieved.

"This is just something that's so heavy for us to even try to lift up and understand we can't, we have no words," Hammond said.

alton shooting map
Alton, New Hampshire (WBZ-TV)

An autopsy for Lizette is scheduled for Saturday.

Many of the details in this case will not become public because a juvenile is charged with the crime.

Alton is a town of just over 5,000 on the southeast border of Lake Winnipesaukee.

 

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