Man suspected of shooting children's author dies during police chase

Upper Enham, Hampshire resident James Nash was shot in the front lawn of his home on Wednesday, August 5. James' attacker was reportedly his neighbour, Alex Sartain. When the police tried to arrest Sartain, he went on the run and ended up crashing his motorcycle. Sartain was pronounced dead after the crash. The reason behind the shooting remains unknown. Hampshire police have launched an investigation into the incident. James remains in a critical condition at a hospital after receiving gunshot wounds to the head.

The children's book author and his wife, Sarah Nash, own a detached two-bedroom home in Upper Enham. The 42-year-old parish councillor reportedly knew Sartain who lived around 200 yards from the couple. James was in the front yard of his home when the 34-year-old man shot him in the head. After shooting his victim, Sartain fled from the property.

Emergency services were alerted of the incident. James survived the shooting despite suffering serious head wounds. He was taken to Southampton General Hospital where his condition remains critical.

At around 3 pm, armed police surrounded the neighbourhood to try and capture the gunman. Sartain tried to flee on a Yamaha R1 motorcycle, according to the Daily Mail.

The police chased the suspect until A343, three miles away from the neighbourhood where the shooting occurred. Sartain crashed his motorcycle on the A343 and a statement from the Hampshire Police confirmed that the suspect was chased by officers in a patrol vehicle until the site of the crash. The statement concluded that the suspect was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash. Hampshire Police are continuing to investigate the incident but they believe that there are no other suspects involved in the shooting. Police also confirmed that the weapon used was a homemade shotgun.

It was also revealed that a 40-year-old woman sustained minor injuries after being assaulted during the incident. The identity of the woman has not been disclosed by the police.

While neighbours speculate that the gunman and his victim might have had some conflict, the police have not confirmed any reason behind the attack. Sartain had a troubled past where he had been arrested for petty crimes and was reportedly a drug addict.