According to authorities, a tragic incident occurred in northwestern France where an 11-year-old British girl was fatally shot, and her father was seriously injured by their Dutch neighbour. The incident took place in the village of Saint-Herbot near Quimper in Brittany, while the family was in their garden on Saturday night. Law enforcement officials intervened after hearing gunfire around 10:00 pm (2000 GMT), as stated by Quimper public prosecutor Carine Halley in a Sunday statement.
The initial investigation revealed that the 11-year-old girl was found dead at the scene, and her father was severely wounded with life-threatening injuries. Fortunately, the mother’s life was not considered to be in immediate danger, and another child was unharmed but understandably shaken. The shooter, a 71-year-old Dutch pensioner, was identified as the neighbor of the family.
While the motive behind the shooting is still under investigation, it seems that a longstanding dispute over a piece of land adjoining their properties had been ongoing for several years. According to Prosecutor Halley, the neighbor fired his rifle through a hedge before returning to his residence with his wife.
Both the neighbor and his wife have turned themselves in to the authorities and have been arrested. The public prosecutor’s office has initiated an investigation, charging the neighbor with voluntary manslaughter of a minor and attempted voluntary manslaughter.
