Solaine thornton

The elderly neighbour accused of killing an year-old British girl with a rifle in France has been pictured for the first time. Dirk Raats, 71, solaine thornton, faces spending the rest of his life behind bars after being charged with the murder of Solaine Thornton and the attempted murder of her parents in the tiny village of Saint Herbot. Prosecutors said the little girl was playing on a swing with her eight-year-old sister Celeste when Raats, allegedly under the influence of alcohol and cannabis, solaine thornton, opened fire through a hedge on Saturday evening. Celeste was the solaine thornton family member to escape unscathed.

A MUM screamed as she cradled her dying daughter, 11, after she had been shot while playing on the swings with her sister. Solaine Thornton was gunned down by reclusive neighbour Dirk Raats who also shot her parents Adrian, 52, and Rachael, Raats appeared in court charged with murder and attempted murder after he opened fire on the family as they had a barbecue on Saturday. The pensioner - described as a local recluse - had been locked in a bitter feud with the family as he raged over noise and the trimming back of hedges and trees. The well-liked family were relaxing in their garden in the tiny hamlet of Saint-Herbot, France , on Saturday, when Raats opened fire with a rifle. Pierre Leroy, a neighbour and family friend, revealed the heartbreaking scenes as he was alerted to the attack by the screams of Solaine's sister Celeste. We went straight over there and the girl was dead and the mother was cradling her in her arms and screaming.

Solaine thornton

A British schoolgirl who was shot dead in France "didn't stand a chance", her grandfather has said. Solaine Thornton, 11, was playing on a swing in the garden of her family home in Brittany when a neighbour allegedly stormed in and opened fire. Her father Adrien and mother Rachel were also injured in the attack, with Adrien struggling to survive in hospital with a head wound. The year-old's grandfather, Irvin Thornton, said police arrived at his house on Sunday night to break the news of his granddaughter's death. How can a year-old man shoot a little girl? She didn't stand a chance. How is she going to get over that? It will live with her forever. A Dutch man and his wife have been arrested in connection with the attack. The couple are thought to be retirees who moved to France six years ago. The two families had been arguing for many years over a plot of land adjoining the two properties, according to the publication, citing a source close to the investigation. The family had been enjoying a barbecue at home when the gunman emerged and shot several times, before running back to his house and barricading himself in.

Pictures show his property - a former schoolhouse - looming over the large garden around the family's ex-sawmill house close to the local church, solaine thornton. How can a year-old man shoot a little girl?

A DERANGED neighbour who fumed for years over noise and hedge trimming allegedly shot dead a little girl and severely wounded her parents in a horrific rampage. The year-old - named by an investigating source as Dirk Raats - shot dead Solaine Thornton , 11, as she played on the swings with her sister Celeste, 8, during a family barbecue in France. Celeste managed to escape - and raised the alarm with another neighbour in the tightly knit community after the family were blasted with the Her sister died at the scene after being shot in the heart, while her dad Adrian, 52, is fighting for his life after being shot in the head. Speaking at a press conference, public prosecutor Camille Miansoni said it did not appear that the neighbour had been aiming at the girl when he fired the shot.

An year-old girl from a British family who was shot dead while playing on a swing in her garden in France has been named as Solaine Thornton. The family were having a barbecue on Saturday evening when the shooting happened in the village of Saint-Herbot, north of Quimper in Brittany. Her parents, Adrian and Rachel Thornton, were also hurt and are in hospital. The family were named by the mayor of the commune where the family lived, Marguerite Bleuzen. The girl and her eight-year-old sister were playing on a swing as their parents tended the barbecue, when a neighbour began firing at them with a shotgun through a hedge. The younger girl ran to another neighbour's house to raise the alarm and is now said to be in shock. A local resident told French media that the younger child ran to neighbours shouting: "My sister is dead, my sister is dead". The suspect, described as a year-old Dutch national, reportedly shut himself in his house following the incident but eventually surrendered to police and was arrested along with his wife.

Solaine thornton

A man has been formally charged with the murder of an year-old British girl who was shot dead in Brittany , France on Saturday evening. Dirk Raats, 71, spoke briefly on Monday evening as he was formally charged with the murder of Solaine Thornton, 11, and the attempted murders of her parents Adrian and Rachael Thornton, 52 and 49 respectively. Solaine Thornton died after she was allegedly shot while playing on swings in the garden of her home in France. On Monday, Mr Raats was taken from a secure police station for a minute appearance before a judge at Brest Criminal Court.

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More about France Shooting neighbour. The Dutch national is accused of aiming a volley of shots at the family, who are originally from the Manchester area, as they enjoyed a barbecue on Saturday. However, Mr Madec has no doubts. Adrian set about the task of clearing the land, cutting down undergrowth and some trees. A German neighbour, whose property also abuts that of Raats, suspects he may have needed privacy not because he was socially awkward but because he was using the old schoolhouse to cultivate cannabis. All of the Thorntons were in the garden of their property — a converted saw mill — when shots were fired at around 9pm on Saturday. The two families had been arguing for many years over a plot of land adjoining the two properties, according to the publication, citing a source close to the investigation. This, after all, is a place where all the old cliches apply. Rats, rubbish and nappies in gutters and pelted with eggs: Residents on Benefits Street say life has 'got If Raats is convicted of the premeditated murder of a child, he will surely die in jail. A neighbour said: "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.

News World. Dirk Raats, 71, spoke briefly on Monday evening as he was formally charged with the murder of Solaine Thornton, 11, and the attempted murders of Adrian and Rachael Thornton, 52 and 49 respectively. The Dutch national is accused of aiming a volley of shots at the family, who are originally from the Manchester area, as they enjoyed a barbecue on Saturday.

Raats spoke for the first time since the death of Solaine as he appeared in court - claiming it was a "blur". Sign Up for News Updates. The sight that caused me to catch my breath, as I gazed at this eerily frozen tableau this week, was that of a makeshift swing swaying in the breeze. A neighbour described him as a 'little guy with long white hair, a long beard, and completely wild-looking'. News World News Henry Holloway. A German neighbour, whose property also abuts that of Raats, suspects he may have needed privacy not because he was socially awkward but because he was using the old schoolhouse to cultivate cannabis. This, then, is the official story. A local resident told French media that the younger child ran to neighbours shouting: "My sister is dead, my sister is dead". Peter Allen 13 June Sheer lace? Warning of looming Gen Z blindness epidemic because today's children 'don't go outside as much as previous By Emma Soteriou. The family home in Saint Herbot is a square, whitewashed, relatively modern house with a large plot of land behind and a workhouse which was once a sawmill.