Mother And Child Shot To Death, Second Child Suffering Gunshot Wounds

FRANKLIN, NH — A woman and her daughter were shot to death and another child is being treated for gunshot wounds from an incident at an Elkins Street residence on Saturday.

Franklin Police, Fire, and EMS responded to the Elkins Street address for a reported shooting. When they arrived, they found Nicole Hughes and her daughter, Arielle Bell, who is about 1.5 years old, deceased.

A second child, who is about 5, was at the scene and suffering from a gunshot wound to the arm and back. She was rushed to a local hospital. The child was transferred to a Massachusetts hospital where she is being treated and expected to survive.

Authorities immediately identified Jamie Bell, 42, as the shooter and began an extensive manhunt. Several law enforcement agencies searched, and the New Hampshire State Police helicopter and SWAT responded to the area.

The suspect was found deceased on the banks of a nearby river with an apparent self-inflicted wound to the neck. The NH Attorney General’s Office described him as “an intimate partner” of Nicole and the father of the girl shot to death. The department said the child who survived is from a different relationship.

Police would not say if the firearm was recovered but said they do not believe there is any further danger to the public.

The New Hampshire State Police Major Crime Unit is at the scene and investigating the incident with Franklin Police and the Attorney General's Office.

Autopsies are expected to be completed Sunday for the three people who died.

Additional information will be added as it becomes available

©Jeffrey Hastings www.frameofmindphoto.com/news