British girl, 11, shot dead in France ‘after work on hedges inflamed dispute’

An 11-year-old British girl was shot dead in her garden in France after her father’s work on some hedges inflamed a long-running dispute, say prosecutors.

Solenne Thornton was killed playing outside her home in Saint-Herbot, a village near Quimper in Brittany, at about 10pm on Saturday.

A 71-year-old Dutch neighbour allegedly fired several shots which hit Solenne and her parents.

Her eight-year-old sister, Celeste, wasn’t hit and managed to raise the alarm.

Local officials said there had been issues between the neighbours over a hedge and a plot of land.

Prosecutor Camille Miansoni told reporters the “family’s dad was doing gardening work on the hedges separating the two properties, this exacerbated the situation”.

“Later the suspect took a loaded 22mm rifle – three to four shots were fired, hitting the three victims,” he said.

Mr Miansoni said there was no evidence so far that the suspect had psychological problems or that he specifically aimed at the girl.

According to TV network France 3, Solenne’s father Adrian Thornton is in a critical condition, while her mother Rachel has non-life-threatening injuries.

Both are reportedly in their forties.

It is believed the family had lived at the property for four or five years – and both girls were born in France.

The suspect has been arrested on suspicion of killing the girl, according to prosecutors. His wife was also reportedly being held.

Yannick, a local resident, told regional paper Le Telegramme de Brest: “We heard the bangs and we thought it was children playing with bangers.

“Then the kid ran into a neighbour’s house saying: ‘My sister is dead, my sister is dead’.”

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A gendarmerie tactical unit was dispatched and a negotiator persuaded the neighbour and his wife to give themselves up, said prosecutor Carine Halley.

She said the motive was not yet known but also cited a long-running dispute over some land.

One neighbour said the dispute with the Dutchman began when they “cut down all the trees that bothered them”.

A neighbour told La Telegramme that on the night of the shooting he’d seen the family under the oak tree at the bottom of their garden.

“The two little girls were playing… the parents were sitting on their usual bench and having a barbecue,” he said.

Plonevez-du-Faou’s mayor, Marguerite Bleuzen, said a “conflict” had existed between the families going back a number of years but that police had never been involved.

However, she said villagers had spoken of “strained exchanges” between them on a “regular basis”.

Ms Bleuzen added: “He even took out his firearm once.

“If we had known that we would have reported it to the gendarmerie, the firearm would have been seized and we would probably not be in this situation.”