THE grieving grandfather of a Brit schoolgirl who was allegedly shot dead by a reclusive neighbour as she played during a family barbecue has raged: "She didn't stand a chance".
Solaine Thornton, 11, died after a pensioner who lived at the end of the garden opened fire with a 22. calibre hunting rifle at her home in Brittany, France, on Saturday, police said.
Her little sister Celeste, 8, was reportedly left screaming as she desperately ran for help as her parents Adrian, 52, and Rachael, 49, were also allegedly shot by the neighbour, a 71-year-old Dutchman named by an investigating source as Dirk Raats.
The two girls were playing on a swing set with their parents sitting nearby on a bench.
Adrian is fighting for his life after reportedly being shot in the head, while Rachael was reportedly shot twice in the head and back.
Solaine - a fan of Disney film Frozen - was reportedly shot in the heart, while Celeste miraculously escaped unharmed as she ran for help in the hamlet Saint-Herbot.
The girls' grandfather Irvin Thornton said the police arrived at his house in Oldham, Lancs, on Sunday night to break the devastating news of Solaine's death.
He told The Sun: “We don’t know exactly what has gone on.
"How can a 71-year-old man shoot a little girl?
“There might have been a dispute over land but you do not do that.
“She didn’t stand a chance.
“And in front of her sister. How is she going to get over that? It will live with her forever.”
Mr Thornton, 77, said he is set to fly out to France and added his son Adrian was still in a coma.
He said: “I don’t know how long I’ll be there.”
It is alleged there had been a row between the neighbours for the last three years over a plot of land next to the two homes.
The suspect lived with his wife Marlene van Hook, also in her 70s, and was reportedly known for being a recluse.
She is being questioned on suspicion of concealing a weapon.
The tiny rural village of just a handful of houses has been left in shock by the gun rampage, which is understood to be the disturbing culmination of a long-running row over land and a hedge.
Yannick Valory, who lives nearby, held back tears as he described the horrific scene as Celeste came running screaming for the family garden, reports .
"We were watching TV around 9 pm with my wife. We heard the sound of firecrackers. It surprised me, so I walked out," said Yannick.
"I saw the youngest of the girls opposite come running and rush to my neighbours, whom she knows better.
"She was screaming that her sister was dead and took refuge with them."
"I crossed to access their garden. There was no shooter. But I saw the prone body of her big sister. I couldn't do anything for her, she was dead."
The shooter was arrested after at first barricading himself inside his converted school house, which is understood to overlook the Thornton's back garden at their home - a former sawmill.
Raats' wife was said to be a "pleasant neighbour" who "said hello to people", but her husband was gruff and withdrawn, BFMTV reported.
He was described as a man with "long, white hair" - who seemed determined to live in a "cacoon" in the little village.
The couple were both retired and had have lived in Saint-Herbot for six years, said the source.
"He was after Adrian and Rachael," said another neighbour, adding the family "great people" and "adorable".
He went on: "This guy has lived there with his wife for several years and had no contact with anyone - except to complain about the noise."
The TV channel reported he became enraged after the Brit family had trimmed back hedges and trees which had "isolated" his home from the rest of the neighbourhood.
And it is reported Raats had previously threatened the family with the gun amid the row - resulting in a call to the Gendarmerie - but no action was taken.
"It's not normal. If we came to live in Saint-Herbot, it's to be quiet. And now, from the road, we can be seen," Marlene is reported to have complained to another neighbour.
"We can't even go eat in the garden in the summer."
Other reports said the gunman was "on drugs" when he pointed the rifle at the family and opened fire. He is also understood to have owned a revolver.
The Brit family had lived in the village for around four years and were well-liked, with Adrian often helping out his neighbours, locals claim.
Another neighbour said: "That’s what the dispute three years ago was all about – police were called because he was threatening the family with his rifle.
"The two families were always arguing, and the rifle escalated matters, but nobody ever believed that he would use it."
The weapon was a licensed hunting rifle, and no effort was made to confiscate it by the police, or council officials.
They added: "He was also regularly upset about the noise the family made, even though it didn’t bother anyone else – it was mainly just kids having a nice time."
Raats spoke briefly on Monday evening as he was formally charged with the murder of 11-year-old Solaine and the attempted murders of her parents.
Appearing before a judge at Brest Criminal Court, he said: "It’s so horrible what happened. I don't understand."
Judges confirmed a test showed he was "on drugs" on Saturday.
He was remanded in custody following the charges and could spend the rest of his life in prison if found guilty at trial.
The public prosecutor said he has had an evaluation and there is no evidence to suggest he is "unhinged."
Mr Miansoni said, translated by BBC: "He has agreed to all his rights, he's been seen by a doctor, for example, and there is no evidence to suggest that he is unhinged psychologically."
He continued to explain both guns had been bought in France, adding: "The firearms were purchased in France, he said in the south of France for one and in Normandy with regard to the other a couple of years ago.
"One needed authorisation, and it wasn't, and the other needed a statement made which wasn't available either."
Marguerite Bleuzen, the local mayor of Plonévez-du-Faou, said there had been "some trouble with a neighbour dispute" since 2020.
An investigative source said "they had been arguing for many years" over a piece of land.
"It appears that the couple next door wanted to kill all members of the family," they said.
"They had been arguing for many years over a plot of land adjoining the two properties.
"Tensions clearly reached boiling point."
Sébastien and Marie-Céline, who live in the same building as the suspected gunman, described him as a "very distant" man.
They told : "Three years ago, he made a big deal to Adrian and Rachael about the clearing they had done - which prevented him from feeling at home.
"He had already threatened with a weapon, the gendarmes had intervened.
"From that day on we kept a low profile."
Another neighbour named Françoise said the neighbour often complained about the family making too much noise.
He said: "But it was in the daytime and they didn’t make more noise than anyone else. No one else was bothered by it."
One resident said the suspect and his wife "spoke to no one".
They told : "They were foreigners in Saint-Herbot, no one knew them, they spoke to no one."
After the fatal attack, the suspect shut himself in his house with his wife - and specialist firearms officers from the elite GIGN (Gendarme National Intervention Group) raced to the scene.
The source said: "The shooter locked himself in his home after the shooting so there was a brief siege.
"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."
Local prosecutor Carine Halley said initial evidence suggested the suspect "suddenly emerged armed with a gun and fired several times towards the victims".
Halley said the 11-year-old girl was dead when the cops arrived.
Her father was taken to the La Cavale Blanche hospital in Brest in a critical condition.
Local mayor Bleuzen 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."
She added the suspect appeared to be "dazed" when he was arrested.
"I am not even sure he realised the gravity of what he had done," she said.
He faces a murder charge, and three attempted ones, a local police source said.
Quimper prosecutor Halley said: "An investigation has been opened into the murder of a minor and three attempted murders."
6,000.000+downloads/Free/Bengali/Version2.3.4
777 BDT IPL 2025 Sports First Deposit Bonus
