The grandad of a British girl, 11, gunned down in France said she "didn't stand a chance" after their neighbour allegedly opened fire on the family over the weekend.
Dutchman Dirk Raats, 71, is facing murder charges after he allegedly shot at his neighbours in a hamlet near Quimper, Brittany, on Saturday evening. Solaine Thornton was killed while her father Adrian, 52, has been left fighting for his life after being "hit in the head" during the alleged attack.
Solaine's eight-year-old sister, Celeste, has been reportedly left in "shock" after witnessing the alleged incident, with grandfather Irvin Thornton saying he wasn't sure how she would ever recover from it. It is claimed the families were in dispute over land for several years, the Mirror reports.
Local reports say that Celeste ran away screaming saying, "my sister is dead, my sister is dead", after witnessing the alleged confrontation. Speaking to the MailOnline, Irvin said: "We don't know exactly what has gone on. We didn't know anything about a dispute. There might have been dispute over land but you do not do that. She didn't stand a chance."
Raats was described by neighbours as gruff and withdrawn - however his wife was said to be a 'pleasant neighbour'.
Marguerite Bleuzen, Mayor of Plonévez-du-Faou, which covers Saint-Herbot, 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."
The investigation for the murder of a child under 15 and two attempted murders continued on Monday.
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