British schoolgirl, 11, shot dead in Brittany, France, while playing on a swing

A gun-wielding Dutch pensioner who allegedly killed an 11-year-old British girl and her parents was ‘on drugs’ when he carried out the attack on Saturday night, according to an investigating source.

The 71-year-old neighbour is said to have stormed the family’s barbecue with a .22 rifle, killing young Solenne Thornon and wounding her father Adrien and mother Rachel before barricading himself in his house.

He was later arrested along with his wife by elite firearms officers. ‘Tests were taken following his arrest, and he was under the influence of drugs,’ the investigating source said.

The attack followed a three-year dispute over noise and a plot of land in the hamlet of Saint-Herbot, in Brittany, according to the region’s mayor. 

On Monday morning, an investigation ‘for the murder of a child under 15, and two attempted murders’ was ongoing. Adrien is critically ill in hospital with a head wound while Rachael is also being treated. They have both undergone surgery. Their youngest daughter – eight-year-old Celeste – was able to escape unharmed.

News footage showed forensic investigators scouring the scene, with the family’s belongings – including a picnic bag and a bottle of fizzy pop – lying abandoned next to a bench. Yellow numbered labels had been placed next to each item.

An 11-year-old British girl shot dead in France was playing on a swing with her sister when their Dutch neighbour wielding a rifle allegedly stormed their family barbecue and shot her dead and wounded her parents 

News footage showed forensic investigators scouring the scene, with the family’s belongings – including a picnic bag and a bottle of fizzy pop – lying next to a wooden bench. A yellow label with a number had been placed next to each item 

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’. 

Mr Thornon was well known around the hamlet and surrounding countryside for helping out with DIY tasks.

He remains ‘critical with life-threatening wounds’, while his wife was also in intensive care at the Cavale Blanche hospital in Brest, where they both underwent surgery.

Marguerite Bleuzen, Mayor of Plonévez-du-Faou, which covers the Saint-Herbot hamlet, revealed that there had been ‘some trouble with a neighbour dispute’ between the two families since at least 2020.

‘I intervened with my deputies when we were elected,’ she said. ‘There was a problem with the land around their properties, and with noise pollution – it started from there.’

Following the official intervention three years ago, there had been ‘no emergency,’ but Ms Bleuzen was aware that arguments continued to simmer.

‘This morning, tongues are loosening,’ she said. ‘I think they all had a little trouble getting on with each other.’

Ms Bleuzen added: ‘The family was well known and liked. There is a village fête every year and they always came. It’s incomprehensible to have shot a child. No one can understand how that could have happened.’

An 11-year-old British girl has been shot dead in France while playing on a garden swing  after a neighbour allegedly stormed a family barbecue 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. Investigators are pictured in the garden where the shooting took place

Solenne Thornon was killed in her garden in the hamlet of Saint-Herbot, in Brittany

All of the Thornons were in the garden of their property – a converted saw mill – when shots were fired at around 9pm on Saturday.

A local prosecutor said Solenne and Celeste were playing on a garden swing when the gunman suddenly emerged and ‘fired several times’. 

Solenne was killed, while their parents were wounded. 

The gunman then fled and barricaded himself in his house, before later being arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder.

The suspect now in custody and 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 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

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 shooting took place on Saturday evening in the picturesque village of Saint-Herbot, near Quimper in the department 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.

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.’ 

The UK 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)