An 11-year-old British girl has been shot dead in France while playing on a garden swing and her father is fighting for his life today after a neighbour allegedly stormed their barbecue with a rifle and fired on a family-of-four.
Solenne Thornon was playing in her garden in the hamlet of Saint-Herbot, in Brittany, when a neighbour brandishing a gun opened fire ‘several times’ on Saturday night. Her father Adrien is critically ill in hospital with a head wound and her mother Rachel was also wounded.
It was the couple’s eight-year-old daughter Celeste who raised the alarm, neighbours said, shouting ‘my sister is dead, my sister is dead’ as she ran away from the gunfire.
The little girl was unharmed and took refuge with a neighbour, but is in a state of ‘shock’ following the ordeal. People in the village called them an ‘adorable, kind and helpful family’.
A Dutch pensioner, 71, who later barricaded himself in his house, has been arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder. ‘They had been arguing for many years over a plot of land adjoining the two properties,’ a source close to the investigation said.
Adrien and Rachel Thornon were in the garden with their two daughters Solenne and her eight-year-old sister Celeste enjoying a barbecue under the oak tree at the bottom of their garden on Saturday night.
A local prosecutor said Solenne and Celeste were playing on a garden swing when the gunman suddenly emerged and ‘fired several times’. He then fled and shut himself in his house.
An 11-year-old British girl has been shot dead in France while playing on a garden swing and her father is fighting for his life after a neighbour allegedly stormed their barbecue with a rifle and fired on a family-of-four. Forensics are pictured at the scene in the hamlet of Saint-Herbot, in Brittany
Solenne Thornon was playing in her garden in the hamlet of Saint-Herbot, in Brittany, when a neighbour brandishing a gun opened fire ‘several times’ on Saturday night. Her father Adrien is critically ill in hospital with a head wound and her mother Rachel was also wounded. Police are pictured examining the scene
A neighbour said the two little girls had been playing on the swing in their garden when he saw them earlier on Saturday evening
Solenne Thornon was killed in her garden in the hamlet of Saint-Herbot, in Brittany
The suspect, a 71-year-old Dutch man, is in custody and that a murder investigation is underway.
‘There was a dispute between neighbours, and a gun was produced,’ said an investigating source.
‘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.
‘The youngest child is the only one who is unscathed, having managed to flee to another neighbour’s house.’
The Intervention Group of the National Gendarmerie tactical unit was called to the scene and a negotiator persuaded the neighbour and his wife to give themselves up before they were arrested, the prosecutor reportedly said.
A source described there as having been a ‘brief siege’ after the shooter’ locked himself in his home’.
‘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 the picturesque village of Saint-Herbot, near Quimper in the departement of Finistere.
The Thornons had lived in the property – a converted sawmill close to the local Catholic Church – for ‘a number of years’, according to a neighbour.
The couple’s eight-year-old daughter Celeste raised the alarm, neighbours said, shouting ‘my sister is dead, my sister is dead’ as she ran away from the gunfire
The Intervention Group of the National Gendarmerie tactical unit was called to the scene and a negotiator persuaded the neighbour and his wife to give themselves up before they were arrested, the prosecutor reportedly said
A direct neighbour 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
A direct neighbour 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.
Solenne was believed to be a pupil at Jean Jaurès College, in the town of Huelgoat.
Her parents, who both work locally, were taken to La Cavale Blanche hospital in Brest to be treated for their injuries.
‘The reasons for this tragedy are not yet known. It would appear that a conflict has been opposing the two neighbours 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.’
The Foreign Office said it was providing assistance to a British family following a shooting in France.
The incident took place on Saturday evening in Saint-Herbot, a small village near Quimper (file image shows the chapel in the hamlet)
The girl’s parents, who both work locally, were taken to La Cavale Blanche hospital in Brest (pictured) to be treated for their injuries (file image)