British schoolgirl, 11, shot dead and her father left fighting for his life in France after row between neighbours over a barbecue
- Shooting reportedly took place as family were around barbecue in their garden
- Solenne Thornon was playing when a neighbour opened fire with a revolver
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An 11-year-old British girl has been shot dead and her parents seriously wounded in a gun attack at a family barbecue following an alleged row between neighbours in Brittany, north-western France.
Solenne Thornon was playing in her garden in the hamlet of Saint-Herbot when a neighbour brandishing a revolver opened fire on Saturday night.
Four members of the Thornon family were at home at the time – Solenne, her eight-year-old sister Celeste, and her parents Adrien and Rachel Thornon.
The schoolgirl’s parents were wounded in the shooting, with her father said to be in a critical condition after suffering a head injury while her mother sustained less serious injuries but was also badly hurt.
It was the couple’s eight-year-old daughter who raised the alarm after she managed to escape unharmed and took refuge with a neighbor. The little girl is in a state of ‘shock’ following the ordeal.
The Quimper prosecutor has said that the main suspect, a 71-year-old Dutch man who also lived in the village, is in custody and that a murder investigation is underway.
A neighbour said the two little girls had been playing on the swing in their garden when he saw them earlier on Saturday evening
‘There was a dispute between neighbours, and a gun was produced,’ said an investigating source.
‘They had been arguing for many years over a plot of land adjoining the two properties,’ the source added.
‘Tensions clearly reached boiling point. The older girl was shot dead and her parents seriously wounded,’ he said.
‘The father suffered a head injury and is critical in hospital, while the mother is also very badly hurt.
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‘The youngest child is the only one who is unscathed, having managed to flee to another neighbour’s house.’
‘The shooter locked himself in his home after the shooting so there was a brief siege,’ said the source.
‘After some negotiation, the suspect gave himself up without a struggle, and he was arrested, alongside his wife. He had retired to Saint-Herbot around six years ago.’
The shooting took place on Saturday evening in Saint-Herbot, a small village near Quimper in in the departement of Finistere.
A direct neighbor of the Thornons told La Telegramme that he saw the whole family under the oak tree at the bottom of their garden earlier that evening.
‘The two little girls were playing near the games and on the swing, the parents were sitting on their usual bench and having a barbecue,’ he said.
The incident took place on Saturday evening in Saint-Herbot, a small village near Quimper in in the departement of Finistere (file image shows the chapel in the hamlet)
‘The reasons for this tragedy are not yet known. It would appear that a conflict has been opposing the two neighbors for several years over a plot of land adjoining the two properties,’ prosecutor Carine Halley said on Sunday.
‘An investigation has been opened into the murder of a minor and three attempted murders.’
Marguerite Bleuzen, the mayor of Plonévez-du-Faou commune, said: ‘We knew the family well. There is a village fête every year and they always came.
‘It is incomprehensible to have shot a child. No one can understand how that could have happened.’
TheForeign Office said it was providing assistance to a British family following a shooting in France.
This is a breaking news story, more to follow…
