Mum cradled dying Brit girl Solaine Thornton, 11, after being shot twice by drugged-up OAP neighbour gunman | The Sun
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, 49.
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.
And he appears to have snapped while high on cannabis and drinking booze.
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.
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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.
"Celeste had dodged a bullet and ran for her life up here," he told The Telegraph.
"They’ve killed my sister and the man shot my dad’. We went straight over there and the girl was dead and the mother was cradling her in her arms and screaming.
"Adrian was shouting as well – injured but conscious – but the mother understood it was too late for her daughter. There were no words, just screams."
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Celeste remains in a state of shock – but knows her sister is dead and her dad is fighting for his life.
Raats spoke for the first time since the death of Solaine as he appeared in court – claiming it was a "blur".
He had stormed outside with a Winchester 22. calibre rifle and a revolver – firing up to four shots towards the two adults and two children.
Wearing a moustache, ponytail and described as looking like a character from the comic strip Asterix, he appeared to be in a trance as he spoke in broken French.
"It’s so horrible what happened. I don't understand," he said, after judges confirmed a test showed he was "on drugs" on Saturday.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday, public prosecutor Camille Miansoni said Raats did not mean to shot Solaine.
He said: "It would seem that he was not aiming at the little girl."
The court heard that Raats had worked as a photographer, shepherd and carer for the handicapped before retiring to France some five years ago.
Anne Guillerme, his defence barrister, said he had "no criminal record" and may have psychiatric problems.
Raats was remanded in custody following the charges, and could spend the rest of his life in prison if found guilty at trial.
Raats’ wife Marlene van Hook, also in her 70s, was meanwhile being questioned on suspicion of concealing a weapon.
Both Raats and his wife "tested positive for alcohol and cannabis" at the time of their arrest, said Miansoni.
He told a press conference held in Brest on Monday evening that the crimes were linked to "an old neighbour dispute".
And he said that Raats had "blamed his neighbours for noise pollution".
Mayor Marguerite 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."
Raats is believed to have become fixated on the Thorntons.
He was furious they had cleared the land of oak trees to install play equipment including swings.
Arguments first reached boiling point around three years ago, when Raats complained that his privacy was threatened, and so pointed a weapon at the Thorntons.
Marguerite Bleuzen, Mayor of Plonévez-du-Faou, which covers Saint-Herbot, confirmed 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."
Raats first threatened the family with a .22 hunting rifle as far back as 2020, according to neighbours in the hamlet.
One 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.
Mr Thornton remained "critical with life-threatening wounds" on Monday, while his wife was also in intensive care at the Cavale Blanche hospital in Brest, where they both underwent surgery.
All of the Thorntons were in the garden of their property – a converted sawmill – when shots were fired at around 9pm on Saturday.
The Thorntons had lived in the property – a converted sawmill close to Saint-Herbot chapel – for around five years.
Raats lived in a neighbouring converted schoolhouse with his wife.
Mr Thornton was well known around the hamlet and surrounding countryside for helping out with DIY tasks, while Mrs Thornton was a home help.
Celeste Thornton raised the alarm after seeing "all her family members shot in the head," said another investigating source.
She was with her sister on garden swings when the attack happened, while their parents were tending the barbecue.
Officers from the GIGN – the Gendarme National Intervention Group – arrived to support local police.
"The shooter locked himself in his home after the shooting so there was a brief siege," said the source.
"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."
Solaine was remembered as the "happiest little girl in the world" by locals as they paid tribute.
"They were laughing and having a good time together," one neighbour said.
"We are talking about a boundary conflict. I don't believe it for a moment. The two plots are well delimited.
"Even though there would have been a problem, we don't settle that with firearms.
"A child's life is gone. And his father is still between life and death. What a tragedy."
Solaine Thornton was a pupil at Jean Jaurès College, in the town of Huelgoat.
Pupils at the school were receiving psychological care on Monday, as classes resumed as normal on Monday morning, with a ‘medical monitoring team’ in place.
Guylène Esnault, director of education services in the Finistere department, said: "This is a small area, and everyone knows each other. The children will have heard about what happened.
"The college principal will say what is appropriate to her students, and a monitoring team including a doctor, nurses and psychiatrists is in place.’
Solaine was in Year 6 at the college, which has around 150 students.
Mael de Calan, president of Finister’s departmental council, said there was "Stupor and consternation after the murder of an 11-year-old schoolgirl in Plonévez-du-Faou.
"Such a drama, between neighbours, reminds us that the rise of violence in our society must be fought unanimously.
"I send all my condolences to the girl's family and loved ones, and my most sincere thoughts to the teachers and students of the Huelgoat college."
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.”
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The UK Foreign Office said it aware of the shooting and ‘offering consulate assistance’.
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