11-year-old British girl shot dead in France with her father also critically injured

An 11-year-old British girl has been shot dead in the Brittany region of France. Her father is also reported to be critically injured.

The incident occurred at around 10 pm last night, Saturday 10, while the family were believed to have been having a barbecue in their garden.

An argument apparently took place involving some neighbours in the small village of Saint-Herbot, located between Plonévez-du-Faou and Loqueffret, in Finistère.

As reported by francetvinfo.fr, the deceased girl’s mother was also slightly hurt in the event but her eight-year-old sister avoided injury and is said to be the one who called for help.

A 71-year-old Dutch citizen and his wife have allegedly been arrested in connection with the shooting. They are thought to have lived in the same village in north-western France.

According to the French news outlet, the suspect surrendered after the intervention of the gendarmerie and a GIGN negotiator.

They quoted the Quimper prosecutor’s office as saying: “A pensioner of Dutch nationality, aged 71, suddenly appeared armed with a firearm and fired several times in the direction of the victims who were in their garden, before retreating to his home, in the company of his wife”.

No motive has yet been suggested for the shooting, however, according to the prosecutor: “It would appear that a conflict has been going on between the two neighbours for several years over a plot of land adjoining their two properties”.

An investigation has been placed in the hands of the Chateaulin Research Unit while a flagrante delicto investigation has been opened by the Quimper public prosecutor’s office. The suspect faces charges of ‘voluntary manslaughter of a child under the age of 15’, and another of ‘attempted voluntary manslaughter’.

‘We are providing consular assistance to a British family following a shooting in France and are in contact with the local authorities’, a spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, told Sky News.