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British girl, 11, killed and father seriously hurt in shooting in France

An 11-year-old British girl was shot dead and her father seriously wounded when their Dutch neighbour in northwestern France opened fire, according to authorities.

British girl, 11, killed and father seriously hurt in shooting in France
Photo by MARTIN BUREAU / AFP

The family was in the garden of their home in the village of Saint-Herbot near Quimper in Brittany on Saturday night when their neighbour appeared with a firearm, according to the initial investigation.

At around 10pm, law enforcement officials intervened “following gunfire”, Quimper public prosecutor Carine Halley said in a statement on Sunday.

Brittany shooting: What we know so far about the victims 

The 11-year-old was found dead at the scene, while her father had sustained life-threatening injuries, according to the magistrate.

The mother’s life was not deemed to be in danger and a second child was unharmed but “in a state of shock”, prosecutor Halley said.

The shooter was identified as a 71-year-old Dutch pensioner.

While police were still trying to determine the motive for the shooting, “it would appear that there had been a dispute between the two neighbours for several years over a plot of land adjoining the two properties”, Halley added.

A police source told AFP that the neighbour had fired his rifle through a hedge before retreating to his home with his wife.

Both the neighbour and his wife have surrendered to authorities and been arrested.

The public prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation on charges of voluntary manslaughter of a minor and attempted voluntary manslaughter.

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CRIME

Teens charged in France over plot to attack Jewish targets: judicial source

French prosecutors have charged a 19-year-old man and a youth in the Paris region with planning a "terrorist" attack on Jewish targets, a judicial source told AFP on Friday.

Teens charged in France over plot to attack Jewish targets: judicial source

While no details on the pair have been released, French anti-terrorist investigators have expressed increased concern over the young age of some suspects detained in recent months for planning militant attacks.

The 19-year-old has been charged with “terrorist conspiracy” to commit attacks and the “acquisition and possession of arms for a terrorist enterprise,” said the judicial source, speaking on condition of anonymity.

READ ALSO: Anti-Semitism fears stalk Jewish voters’ choice in France

The youth aged under 18 was detained on June 13, the source said.

The pair made contact on social media and were planning a “a violent action notably aiming at Jewish targets,” said the source without giving details on the plot.

Anti-terrorism investigators say a growing number of youths have been held in recent months for preparing attacks.

READ ALSO: French election breakdown: TV debates, polling latest and anti-Semitism

“This is a necessarily worrying phenomenon,” senior anti-terrorist prosecutor Olivier Christen said at an evidentiary hearing on Wednesday.

French politicians have also condemned a growing number of attacks on the country’s Jewish community, the biggest outside Israel and the United States.

Outrage has been expressed over the rape of a 12-year-old Jewish girl in a park in the Paris suburbs last Saturday. Two 13-year-old boys have been charged with rape and making anti-Semitic insults.

Several protest rallies have been held in Paris and other French cities over the case which comes as France prepares for a national election in which the far-right National Rally party is tipped to make major gains. 

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