Girl, 11, Shot Dead Amid Garden Dispute In France: 7 Things To Know

An 11-year-old British girl succumbed to gunfire during the latest shooting incident in France.

A 71-year-old Dutch national in a small village in France open fired on a British family, killing their 11-year-old daughter while injuring the parents. What led a man to shoot a child?

France shooting: 7 Things To Know

1. As per reports, an 11-year-old girl shot dead is identified as Solaine Thornton lived with her family in the village of Saint-Herbot, north of Quimper, in Brittany, France. While the girl was swinging in her garden as the family was having a barbecue night on Saturday, around 10 pm (local time) the family was gunfired by a Dutch neighbour.

2. The 71-year-old Dutch neighbour is identified as Dirk Raats. After the incident, he locked himself in his house but eventually surrendered himself as police arrested him and his wife. The Dutchman is charged with the charges of murder and attempt to murder while his wife is charged with attempting to hide two weapons. At the time of arrest, there was a presence of alcohol and cannabis found.

3. In the incident both the parents were shot as well, while Adrian Thornton (father) is in critical condition, but the mother is in stable condition. While the younger daughter, Celeste who was just 8-year-old was not shot raised the alarm and ran towards the Neighbour shouting "My sister is dead, my sister is dead." Celeste is said to be in shock as well.

4. The neighbour, Pierre Leroy described the mother as cradling her dying daughters in her arms screaming, while Adrian was shouting as well though he was injured but conscious. The mother understood it was too late for her daughter, while he described the scene as "There were no words- just screams."

5. Locals described that the two families had a dispute over a plot of land adjoining the two properties. While the prosecutor said that the Dutch family also blamed the injured family for noises in the garden as they worked on their garden calling the voices unbearable and creating noise pollution. The Dutchman is said to have threatened the British family with a rifle earlier, but locals said no one expected that he would ever really use it.

6. The investigators said that while he targeted her parents, he didn't intend to kill their daughter.

7. The Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office are providing consular assistance to the deceased British family and are in touch with the local authorities regarding the shocking incident.

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