Tributes to children’s author killed during horrific village shooting
A ‘kind-hearted’ children’s author and parish councillor who was blasted in the head during a ‘horrific shooting’ at his home has died, his family and local leaders have said.
Alex Sartain, 34, attacked James Nash with a handmade gun by his thatched cottage in Hampshire on Wednesday afternoon. He later died during a police chase after fleeing the scene on a motorcycle.
Mr Nash, 42, lived at the property in the village of Upper Enham with his wife, space scientist Dr Sarah Nash, 40, who also suffered injuries during the ambush. Tributes flooded in on Friday night after Mr Nash’s family and council colleagues confirmed he tragically died from his ‘brutal’ injuries at Southampton General Hospital.
His mother, Gillian Nash, wrote in a Facebook message: ‘His father, his sister and I are in a total state of shock and grief. We have lost a beautiful, talented son and brother and I know all who knew him would say he was the kindest, most caring person.’ She added: ‘We will never come to terms with this evil.’
Phil North, leader of Test Valley Borough Council, said: ‘This is such devastating news, not just for his family and friends, who will obviously miss him terribly but for the whole community of Enham Alamein where he was public representative.
‘I knew James well and worked with him on a number of projects. He was such a kind-hearted individual and a proactive parish councillor who cared deeply for his community.
‘As a talented children’s author and illustrated, I was extremely touched last year when one of the dedications in his latest book was to my new born daughter Eleanor-Ivy Mae. We will always treasure our copy.
‘I’m sure there will be many more tributes to James in the coming days and weeks and in time, an opportunity for the community to come together with his family to consider some form of lasting memorial to his life.
‘My thoughts though are with James’ family and friends and the people of Enham Alamein.’
North West Hampshire MP Kit Malthouse described it as ‘tragic and profoundly sad news’.
He said in a post on Facebook: ‘James’s family will be devastated and they are in all our thoughts tonight.
‘I know that Hampshire police are working flat out to try and understand what could have sparked this appalling chain of events, and I am grateful for their sensitive and professional handling of this deeply distressing situation.
‘James will be deeply missed by his community and the terrible manner of his death will be seared in the memory of everyone in the area. May he Rest In Peace.’
Police said the 34-year-old who carried out the attack died three miles away after crashing his motorbike during a chase.
Locals named him as Sartain, who lived just 200 yards from Mr Nash and worked with his dad John at his motorbike repair shop.
A close family friend said he didn’t have specific issues with Mr Nash personally but suffered from paranoia and came to believe the former aerospace engineer was a ‘government agent’ spying on him.
Tony Bennett, 55, who runs a bodyshop company on the same road as Mr Nash and Sartain, said: ‘I saw Alex the day before and he pointed at Mr Nash’s house and said, “They are trying to get me sectioned”.
‘Because Mr Nash used to work in aerospace Alex got it in his head that this guy works for the government. He had it in his head that he was being spied on.
‘A week ago Alex’s dad, John, had been trying to get him sectioned. Alex had been sectioned three times.
‘On the day it happened John didn’t hear Alex go out or anything like that. His dad told me today that Alex always said he wanted to die on his motorbike.’
Sartain’s Facebook page shows an interest in Nazi Germany, including ‘likes’ of Hitler, Himmler and other leading figures, The Times reports.
He had been a pupil at Smannell and Enham primary school and Winton secondary school before working as a mechanic in Andover.
A former girlfriend told the newspaper: ‘He had a heart of gold but a lot of us lost touch with him ten years ago. Obviously he had serious problems.’
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