An 11-year-old Australian girl is lucky to be alive after receiving a gunshot wound to her face following a dispute at a Tasmanian supermarket.
She was flown to Melbourne's Royal Children Hospital overnight in a critical condition after the shooting at Deloraine, near Launceston, and has since improved to stable.
"It certainly didn't look good to start with but it's very, very pleasing to hear that her condition is improving," detective inspector John King said in Launceston.
He said a 25-year-old man is expected to be charged later today over the shooting which was allegedly sparked by an earlier argument at a nearby Woolworths.
Initial investigations suggest the girl was inside a car when it was shot at.
