British schoolgirl, 11, shot dead and her father left fighting for his life in France after neighbors argued at a barbecue
- The shooting reportedly happened while the family was near the barbecue in their garden
An 11-year-old British girl has been shot dead while playing in her garden while her parents were seriously injured in a gun attack in Brittany, north-western France.
Solenne Thornon died after coming under fire from a neighbor brandishing a revolver in the hamlet of Saint-Herbot, Brittany, on Saturday night.
Four members of the Thornon family were home at the time: Solenne, her eight-year-old sister Celeste, and her parents Adrien and Rachel Thornon.
The schoolgirl’s parents were also injured in the shooting, which reportedly took place as the family gathered around a barbecue in their garden.
Her father was said to be in critical condition after suffering a head injury, while her mother sustained minor injuries but was also badly injured.
“There was an argument between neighbors and a gun was pulled out,” says an investigative source.
The incident took place on Saturday evening in Saint-Herbot, a small village near Quimper in the Finistere department (file image shows the chapel in the hamlet)
The couple’s eight-year-old daughter escaped unharmed and took shelter with a neighbor, Le Telegram reports.
The shooting took place on Saturday evening in Saint-Herbot, a small village near Quimper in the Finistere department.
The local prosecutor said the main suspect, a 71-year-old Dutch man who also lived in the village, is in custody.
“The reasons for this tragedy are not yet known. It seems that there has been a conflict between the two neighbors for years over a piece of land adjacent to the two properties,” Carine Halley said on Sunday.
Marguerite Bleuzen, the mayor of the municipality of Plonévez-du-Faou, said: ‘We knew the family well. Every year there is a village festival and they always came.
“It is incomprehensible that you shot a child. No one can understand how that could have happened.’
The Foreign Office said it was providing assistance to a British family following a shooting in France.
This is a breaking news story, more to follow…