At the time of the shooting, the victim was playing in the garden
Man suspected of fatally killing 11-year-old child British girl, neighbors say , who played in her garden during a family barbecue in France, had previously threatened the family.
A girl named Solenne was reportedly playing on the swings with her younger sister Celeste at around 10:00 pm on Saturday when the suspect opened fire in the village of Saint-Herbeau near Brittany.
Their father, known locally as Adrian Thornon, was seriously wounded and taken to the hospital, where he is in critical condition. Their mother, Rachel, was also injured, but her injuries were not considered serious.
The younger girl was not hurt. Neighbor Yannick Valory told Le Télégramme that he heard Celeste screaming “My sister is dead, my sister is dead” seconds after the shooting.
Prosecutors said the family's 71-year-old neighbor, a Dutchman, was arrested on suspicion of killing the girl. The attack comes amid reports of a bitter dispute over a plot of land adjacent to their two properties in the village.
Neighbors said the police were previously called after the suspect threatened the family.
< img src="/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/bc052481cb607bfb86d3e10ee9c913df.jpg" /> Police outside a building in St. Herbot The previous threat was
Sebastien and Marie-Céline, whose housemates of the Dutch couple, described them as “very distant” after they moved to the countryside seven years ago, according to the newspaper Le Télégramme.
“Three years ago he ( suspect) made a fuss with Adrian and Rachel after they cleared their garden and (which he says) prevented them from feeling at home.
“He threatened (them) with a gun and the police were called,” said Marie-Celine.
“His wife was more polite, but from that day on we kept a low profile. and just wished them a good day or a good evening,” she said.
On Saturday, the family reportedly had a barbecue in the garden of their house near the village of Plonevet-du-Fau in the department of Finistère, where they lived about four years.
1306 locationshooting France ' My sister is dead, my sister is dead.”
About 10 pm, their neighbor is said to have run out of his house with a gun and fired a series of shots at the family.
Karine Halley, public prosecutor in Quimper, Brittany, said the 11-year-old girl was dead when police arrived, and her 52-year-old father had been seriously injured after “a blow to the head.”
According to her, he was taken to the hospital, where he is in critical condition.
After the fatal attack, the Dutch pensioner locked himself in his house with his wife. Police scoured the area and negotiated with the suspect until he surrendered around 11:00 pm.
Mr Valory told Le Télégramme: “We heard the bangs and thought it was the kids playing with the sausage. Then the kid ran into a neighbor's house saying, “My sister is dead, my sister is dead.”
Neighbors told how the family planned to go to Manchester next month to celebrate the girls' grandmother's 80th birthday. p>Mayor – “it is not clear to shoot a child”
Marguerite Blaisin, mayor of Plonevé-du-Fau, said: “We knew this family well. There is a village festival every year and they always came. They are not the family that created the problems.”
The mayor said she knew about “neighbourhood problems.”
“I interfered with my deputies when we were elected. There were problems with the land, some problems with noise,” she told BFMTV.
“But it’s not clear that the child was shot.”
Another neighbor said that the dispute with the Dutch pensioner started when they “cut down all the trees that got in their way.”
Francoise, who also lives in the village, said the neighbor was a hermit who complained that the British family was too noisy. “But it was during the day and they didn't make any more noise than anyone else. It didn't bother anyone else.”
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