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Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
The reality of British expat life in France, according to three couples
Have you lived abroad as an expat? Whether you stayed or came back to the UK, we'd like to hear about your experience. Email money@ It starts, as dreams often do, with a holiday. Mornings spent savouring strong coffee and still-warm croissants from the boulangerie; evenings drifting from ice-cold rosé aperitifs to long dinners accompanied by a chorus of cicadas. In the haze that follows, a vision takes shape: living la belle vie francaişe – forever. For many looking to move away from Britain, France is a haven where excellent wine is cheap and a charming pied-à-terre awaits anyone handy with a power drill. Despite new layers of Brexit bureaucracy, thousands are still moving to EU countries each year. At the end of 2024, just under a quarter (23pc) of British-based respondents were considering doing so, according to research by Currencies Direct, driven by the cost of living and property at home and better job prospects overseas. But the analysis also suggests that France is losing its allure among British expats. Spain, Italy, Australia, Canada and America rank as more desirable destinations. According to France's interior ministry, an estimated 8,400 first-time residency cards were issued to British citizens at the end of 2024, down some 10pc from the previous year (9,339) and 24pc compared to 2022 (11,174). While there is much to enjoy about emigrating to France – gorgeous landscapes, rich culture and a high quality of life – plenty of expats have experienced the complex reality. 'We were caught out by French tax, but still want to stay' Andrew and Caroline Lewis, both 60, had always adored the south of France. They both spent holidays there as teenagers. Fast forward a decade, and with six sons in tow, they continued to take trips across the Channel. 'We couldn't afford hotels, so we'd drive the car down with everything we owned strapped to the roof for two weeks' camping,' Andrew says. Alongside Andrew's construction business, they bought and sold houses in London, always hoping there would be enough left over to buy somewhere in France – but paying for the children's schooling got in the way. When their youngest finished his studies, they finally had the funds to start searching. They viewed 250 properties over the next few years. Nothing felt right, until they found an 18th century farmhouse in Quissac, a village in Occitanie. It was 'a pile of stones': no windows, no doors, half the roof gone, and reeking of the 5,000 hunting pheasants living on the land. A week later, they spotted a cock pheasant in their Wimbledon garden and took it as a sign. After lengthy negotiations with the owner's children – under France's strict inheritance laws, all heirs must agree to a property's sale – they bought the 32-bedroom property, La Deveze, and its surrounding 200 acres. The renovation took three years while they commuted between Quissac and London. They moved full-time in 2018 although it was far from finished. 'We lived with holes in the floor, bats everywhere, and no heating,' Caroline says. 'I remember watching Downton Abbey in the dark, freezing, thinking: this is the life!' They worked with French builders on major jobs but handled the finishes themselves, including replacing the roof with 22,000 Roman-style tiles. Then Covid hit, halting Andrew's business and forcing them to sell their London flat. As newly classified French tax residents post-Brexit, they were hit with capital gains tax in the UK – since it wasn't their main home – and again in France, with no allowance or taper relief. 'We'd only owned La Deveze for two years, so the French tax was high,' Andrew says. 'On top of the money pit that we were still trying to make liveable, it really caught us out.' Despite setbacks, the Lewises have found their rhythm. They have transformed the property from hosting holiday rentals and yoga retreats into a bespoke wedding venue, with 28 bookings lined up for the next calendar year.A return to the UK looks unlikely – especially with a new dream project in the Côté d'Azur. 'It's been abandoned for nine years, with a view straight over the Bay of Cannes,' Andrew says. 'Maybe we're being stupid, but it would be the perfect bolthole for us to relax in between weddings.' 'Making friends with the French was tough' The French countryside has been luring Britons for years, with TV shows like Peter Mayle's series A Year in Provence and Channel 4's Escape to the Chateau capturing the hearts and minds of expats looking to leave behind their daily grind. The result is that parts of rural France have quietly become 'Franglo-Saxon'. According to Insee, France's national statistics agency, the top three regions with the highest British presence – Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Occitanie, and Île-de-France (which includes Paris) – are home to around 78,000 British expats, roughly the population of Shrewsbury. In many cases, their arrival is slowing rural decline and boosting local economies. But for anyone keener on authenticity, the sudden appearance of fish and chip restaurants and corner shops peddling PG Tips and Marmite could feel they're trading one British bubble for another. Ann Tams, 74, and her husband Chris, 72, experienced this first-hand after buying a riverside townhouse in Couiza, just under an hour's drive from Carcassonne, in 2006. 'Properties in France were still relatively cheap – we paid £80,000 and used it as a holiday home,' she says. Their summers were spent hiking and playing tennis; winters meant trips to small, nearby ski resorts. But it was moving to Algiers for three years for Chris's job that piqued their appetite for adventure. By 2011, fluent in French and ready for a change, the couple made the leap and moved to France full-time. Looking for more space and a bigger garden, they sold the house in Couiza and relocated to Ginoles, a small spa village just outside Quillan, near the Pyrenees. That, Ann says, was their first mistake. 'It was much harder to integrate as it was full of Brits who just wanted to stay British; not speaking French and sticking to their own groups, which wasn't what we came for.' The couple threw themselves into village life – attending fêtes, sports clubs, and community events – but deeper friendships remained tricky. 'Making friends with the French was tough, as they're not unfriendly, just very private,' she says. 'It took us five years to be invited to our neighbour's house across the road, even though we'd invited them numerous times.' Disillusioned by the isolation and climate-related decline in ski conditions – and pulled home by the desire to spend time with ageing family members – they put the house on the market in 2016. It wasn't a speedy French exit however, as the property took three years to sell. 'We hit a slump in the market and lost money, eventually selling it to another British couple,' she says, adding that she was grateful they had kept hold of their home in West Sussex. Now the couple are preparing to move to Dumfries and Galloway, not far from their daughter in Glasgow – 'our 10-year itch,' as Ann puts it. They haven't returned to France since selling the house. 'August in Ginoles was unbearable, and winters were freezing, so we're enjoying a more temperate climate now,' she adds. 'Living elsewhere makes you appreciate the UK, even the weather!' Endless admin kills the joie de vivre For all its pastoral promise and slower pace of life, France isn't always the sun-drenched paradise it is imagined to be. And time spent in the country doesn't necessarily make its foibles easier to ignore. For Roy Carpenter, 59, the has rose tint faded the longer he has stayed. Carpenter has lived in Lyon for almost 30 years. He is originally from the US and works as a professor of American civilisation at the Université Grenoble Alpes. He came to France for love, married a French woman and stayed after the divorce. He is now married to Shona, 63, a Scot. Even with a level of French far above the average Anglophone, he was treated as an outsider to start with. 'The best thing was when they would say 'gosh, you're alright for an American',' he laughs. He's long been intrigued by the British – and to some extent, American – love affair with France. 'After two weeks in the sun, everyone wants to move here,' he says. But behind the joie de vivre lies endless admin and a frustrating aversion to queuing, according to Carpenter. Beyond the clichés, he finds France to be far more conservative than many outsiders realise. 'In the States, people think it's socialist and liberal, but it's not,' he says. 'Even the Left-wing parties, until Macron, were more conservative than the Conservatives.' Change, he adds, comes slowly, if at all: budgets don't add up, protests are constant, and even teenagers take to the streets over pensions. The national mindset, he believes, is summed up in a phrase: 'Oui, mais pas comme ça' – yes, but not like that. 'They want change, just never the way it's proposed.' Carpenter sees France as fiscally cautious to the core. 'They don't want you to take on debt,' he says, recalling how even a simple student loan for his son came wrapped in layers of red tape – insurance, insurance to insure the insurance, and invasive financial questions. 'As his guarantor, they asked why I'd spent €300 the previous February. I thought, why do you care?' He also notes that debit cards are king, and mortgage lending is approached with extreme caution, with terms rarely over 10 years. After a long-standing health issue, he was repeatedly refused a loan for his own house. With retirement on the horizon, the couple plan to swap France for Scotland or America, although they worry about the financial leap they'd need to make and missing out on decent healthcare as they age. Their mixed feelings are a reminder that for many expats, moving to France – despite the gastronomy, the sun and the fêtes – is no guarantee of the good life. *Please note that by submitting your content to us, you are consenting to The Telegraph processing your personal data where required by law. For further details, please see our Privacy Notice. 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Telegraph
3 days ago
- Telegraph
Why moving to France doesn't guarantee the good life
Have you lived abroad as an expat? Whether you stayed or came back to the UK, we'd like to hear about your experience. Email money@ It starts, as dreams often do, with a holiday. Mornings spent savouring strong coffee and still-warm croissants from the boulangerie; evenings drifting from ice-cold rosé aperitifs to long dinners accompanied by a chorus of cicadas. In the haze that follows, a vision takes shape: living la belle vie francaişe – forever. For many looking to move away from Britain, France is a haven where excellent wine is cheap and a charming pied-à-terre awaits anyone handy with a power drill. Despite new layers of Brexit bureaucracy, thousands are still moving to EU countries each year. At the end of 2024, just under a quarter (23pc) of British-based respondents were considering doing so, according to research by Currencies Direct, driven by the cost of living and property at home and better job prospects overseas. But the analysis also suggests that France is losing its allure among British expats. Spain, Italy, Australia, Canada and America rank as more desirable destinations. According to France's interior ministry, an estimated 8,400 first-time residency cards were issued to British citizens at the end of 2024, down some 10pc from the previous year (9,339) and 24pc compared to 2022 (11,174). While there is much to enjoy about emigrating to France – gorgeous landscapes, rich culture and a high quality of life – plenty of expats have experienced the complex reality. 'We were caught out by French tax, but still want to stay' Andrew and Caroline Lewis, both 60, had always adored the south of France. They both spent holidays there as teenagers. Fast forward a decade, and with six sons in tow, they continued to take trips across the Channel. 'We couldn't afford hotels, so we'd drive the car down with everything we owned strapped to the roof for two weeks' camping,' Andrew says. Alongside Andrew's construction business, they bought and sold houses in London, always hoping there would be enough left over to buy somewhere in France – but paying for the children's schooling got in the way. When their youngest finished his studies, they finally had the funds to start searching. They viewed 250 properties over the next few years. Nothing felt right, until they found an 18th century farmhouse in Quissac, a village in Occitanie. It was 'a pile of stones': no windows, no doors, half the roof gone, and reeking of the 5,000 hunting pheasants living on the land. A week later, they spotted a cock pheasant in their Wimbledon garden and took it as a sign. After lengthy negotiations with the owner's children – under France's strict inheritance laws, all heirs must agree to a property's sale – they bought the 32-bedroom property, La Deveze, and its surrounding 200 acres. The renovation took three years while they commuted between Quissac and London. They moved full-time in 2018 although it was far from finished. 'We lived with holes in the floor, bats everywhere, and no heating,' Caroline says. 'I remember watching Downton Abbey in the dark, freezing, thinking: this is the life!' They worked with French builders on major jobs but handled the finishes themselves, including replacing the roof with 22,000 Roman-style tiles. Then Covid hit, halting Andrew's business and forcing them to sell their London flat. As newly classified French tax residents post-Brexit, they were hit with capital gains tax in the UK – since it wasn't their main home – and again in France, with no allowance or taper relief. 'We'd only owned La Deveze for two years, so the French tax was high,' Andrew says. 'On top of the money pit that we were still trying to make liveable, it really caught us out.' Despite setbacks, the Lewises have found their rhythm. They have transformed the property from hosting holiday rentals and yoga retreats into a bespoke wedding venue, with 28 bookings lined up for the next calendar year. A return to the UK looks unlikely – especially with a new dream project in the Côté d'Azur. 'It's been abandoned for nine years, with a view straight over the Bay of Cannes,' Andrew says. 'Maybe we're being stupid, but it would be the perfect bolthole for us to relax in between weddings.' 'Making friends with the French was tough' The French countryside has been luring Britons for years, with TV shows like Peter Mayle's series A Year in Provence and Channel 4's Escape to the Chateau capturing the hearts and minds of expats looking to leave behind their daily grind. The result is that parts of rural France have quietly become 'Franglo-Saxon'. According to Insee, France's national statistics agency, the top three regions with the highest British presence – Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Occitanie, and Île-de-France (which includes Paris) – are home to around 78,000 British expats, roughly the population of Shrewsbury. In many cases, their arrival is slowing rural decline and boosting local economies. But for anyone keener on authenticity, the sudden appearance of fish and chip restaurants and corner shops peddling PG Tips and Marmite could feel they're trading one British bubble for another. Ann Tams, 74, and her husband Chris, 72, experienced this first-hand after buying a riverside townhouse in Couiza, just under an hour's drive from Carcassonne, in 2006. 'Properties in France were still relatively cheap – we paid £80,000 and used it as a holiday home,' she says. Their summers were spent hiking and playing tennis; winters meant trips to small, nearby ski resorts. But it was moving to Algiers for three years for Chris's job that piqued their appetite for adventure. By 2011, fluent in French and ready for a change, the couple made the leap and moved to France full-time. Looking for more space and a bigger garden, they sold the house in Couiza and relocated to Ginoles, a small spa village just outside Quillan, near the Pyrenees. That, Ann says, was their first mistake. 'It was much harder to integrate as it was full of Brits who just wanted to stay British; not speaking French and sticking to their own groups, which wasn't what we came for.' The couple threw themselves into village life – attending fêtes, sports clubs, and community events – but deeper friendships remained tricky. 'Making friends with the French was tough, as they're not unfriendly, just very private,' she says. 'It took us five years to be invited to our neighbour's house across the road, even though we'd invited them numerous times.' Disillusioned by the isolation and climate-related decline in ski conditions – and pulled home by the desire to spend time with ageing family members – they put the house on the market in 2016. It wasn't a speedy French exit however, as the property took three years to sell. 'We hit a slump in the market and lost money, eventually selling it to another British couple,' she says, adding that she was grateful they had kept hold of their home in West Sussex. Now the couple are preparing to move to Dumfries and Galloway, not far from their daughter in Glasgow – 'our 10-year itch,' as Ann puts it. They haven't returned to France since selling the house. 'August in Ginoles was unbearable, and winters were freezing, so we're enjoying a more temperate climate now,' she adds. 'Living elsewhere makes you appreciate the UK, even the weather!' Endless admin kills the joie de vivre For all its pastoral promise and slower pace of life, France isn't always the sun-drenched paradise it is imagined to be. And time spent in the country doesn't necessarily make its foibles easier to ignore. For Roy Carpenter, 59, the has rose tint faded the longer he has stayed. Carpenter has lived in Lyon for almost 30 years. He is originally from the US and works as a professor of American civilisation at the Université Grenoble Alpes. He came to France for love, married a French woman and stayed after the divorce. He is now married to Shona, 63, a Scot. Even with a level of French far above the average Anglophone, he was treated as an outsider to start with. 'The best thing was when they would say 'gosh, you're alright for an American',' he laughs. He's long been intrigued by the British – and to some extent, American – love affair with France. 'After two weeks in the sun, everyone wants to move here,' he says. But behind the joie de vivre lies endless admin and a frustrating aversion to queuing, according to Carpenter. Beyond the clichés, he finds France to be far more conservative than many outsiders realise. 'In the States, people think it's socialist and liberal, but it's not,' he says. 'Even the Left-wing parties, until Macron, were more conservative than the Conservatives.' Change, he adds, comes slowly, if at all: budgets don't add up, protests are constant, and even teenagers take to the streets over pensions. The national mindset, he believes, is summed up in a phrase: ' Oui, mais pas comme ça' – yes, but not like that. 'They want change, just never the way it's proposed.' Carpenter sees France as fiscally cautious to the core. 'They don't want you to take on debt,' he says, recalling how even a simple student loan for his son came wrapped in layers of red tape – insurance, insurance to insure the insurance, and invasive financial questions. 'As his guarantor, they asked why I'd spent €300 the previous February. I thought, why do you care?' He also notes that debit cards are king, and mortgage lending is approached with extreme caution, with terms rarely over 10 years. After a long-standing health issue, he was repeatedly refused a loan for his own house. With retirement on the horizon, the couple plan to swap France for Scotland or America, although they worry about the financial leap they'd need to make and missing out on decent healthcare as they age. Their mixed feelings are a reminder that for many expats, moving to France – despite the gastronomy, the sun and the fêtes – is no guarantee of the good life.
Telegraph
6 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
‘I'm 50 with 10pc of my money in gold, how should I invest before I retire?'
Would you like Victoria to rate your portfolio? Email money@ with the subject line: 'Rate my portfolio'. Please include a breakdown of your portfolio, your age and what your investing goals are. Full names will not be published.* Dear Victoria, Could you please give me your thoughts and opinion on my exchange-traded fund (ETF) portfolio. It is for the long term as I am 50 years of age and I am intending to stay invested until my retirement age of 67 or 68. I know my bond allocation is quite low but I have quite a high gold allocation as a substitute hedge and so far it has done well in a downturn. My total expense ratio – the annual fee for the funds' operating expenses – is 0.13 and I have back-tested the portfolio and the Sharpe ratio (how investments have performed compared to risk-free assets) is 0.93. I also have a satellite fund portfolio that is separate but it makes up 5pc of my total investments. - Anon, by email Dear reader, It is good to see you've got a long-term plan – as they say, time in the market beats timing the market so giving yourself as long as possible to get to where you want to be financially sounds like a great idea. There's lots of things to like here including your use of ETFs. Building a portfolio via ETFs has become a popular strategy for many investors thanks to the vast amount of choice out there and their competitive, low costs. Within your ETFs you've got some good building blocks too – a manageable amount of funds spanning different asset classes and geographies. Your almost 10pc allocation to gold has served you particularly well lately. I don't know when you bought in, but gold investors have been enjoying the precious metal's boom of late. The World Gold Council said physically backed gold ETFs posted their highest half-year inflows since 2020 this year. Gold is seen as a safe haven and an inflationary hedge so it can help shield portfolios from Trump's tariff uncertainty and the geopolitical turmoil. These global dynamics pushed gold to an all-time high of $3,500 (£2,634) per troy ounce in April – it has gained around 30pc so far this year and around 40pc over the past 12 months. One thing I would question is whether your gold allocation is truly a 'substitute hedge' for a bond allocation as you suggest. While both are legitimately 'defensive' parts of a portfolio, they can behave very differently depending on market conditions. The main difference I'd highlight is the impact of inflation and interest rates. Gold typically rises amid price pressures in an economy, whereas inflation is seen as kryptonite for bonds as it eats into the 'real' returns of fixed income assets. Inflation also probably leads to higher interest rates, which means that existing bonds will have to fall in value for their yields to come into line with market rates. On the other hand, bonds could do very well if interest rates drop more than the market expects, such as in a recession. The outlook for gold would be less certain in a downturn, but bonds could deliver a significant portfolio boost. That said, at 50 years old and with a decent stretch of time ahead of you, your 10pc allocation to bonds looks appropriate. When you finally hit retirement, upping your allocation to a roughly 60/40 stocks-to-bonds ratio and de-risking your portfolio might make more sense. Xtrackers MSCI World Quality has been a great choice over the long-run, ranking just outside the top quartile of global funds over three and five years, returning 58pc and 85pc respectively. Performance has lagged a bit this year, but I wouldn't worry about that too much – you want steady performance from this tracker and so you wouldn't expect it to do as well as during rising markets, when racier shares (like tech stocks) are leading the charts as has happened recently due to the AI boom. With over 15 years to grow, I think you could benefit from some more tech-focussed funds. Artificial intelligence developments have only really just begun in my view, and I think there could be lots more gains ahead for companies involved as the tech advances begin to be integrated into products and company workflows. With that in mind, and given that you like listed funds, Invesco Nasdaq-100 Ucits ETF (EQQQ) could be a strong option – it owns the largest shares on the Nasdaq exchange, which is a who's who of US tech giants. While not an ETF, you could look at Scottish Mortgage (SMT) too, which is an investment trust that looks for fast-growing shares from around the world. It owns private as well as public stocks and the top positions are currently SpaceX, MercadoLibre, Amazon and Meta. Fees are exceptionally low for an active fund at just 0.32pc. Best of luck, - Victoria Victoria is head of investment at Interactive Investor. Her columns should not be taken as advice or as a personal recommendation, but as a starting point for readers to undertake their own further research.
Sky News
12-06-2025
- Business
- Sky News
Billionaire Blavatnik courted to take Daily Telegraph stake
The billionaire who has bankrolled DAZN, the sports-streaming service, is being courted to take a stake in The Daily Telegraph alongside the newspaper's new American majority-owners. Sky News has learnt that Sir Len Blavatnik, whose holding company Access Entertainment owns assets in Britain, including the Theatre Royal Haymarket, has been approached by RedBird Capital Partners about becoming a minority investor in the Telegraph titles. Two sources close to the situation said on Thursday that Sir Len was being sounded out about a deal, although they cautioned that no agreement had been struck and it remained unclear whether one would be. Sir Len, who was knighted by the late Queen Elizabeth II for services to philanthropy in 2017, is a prolific investor in the arts, media and entertainment industries. Access Entertainment is run by Danny Cohen, the former BBC director of television. Announcing its agreement to acquire Telegraph Media Group last month for an enterprise valuation of £500m, RedBird Capital said it was "in discussions with select UK-based minority investors with print media expertise and strong commitment to upholding the editorial values of the Telegraph". This was principally a reference to Lord Rothermere, the Daily Mail proprietor, who remains in talks to pay more than £30m for a stake in the Mail's rival right-leaning newspaper group. Goldman Sachs is advising DMGT on the investment, with a deal the subject of ongoing discussions, according to insiders. The Abu Dhabi state-backed vehicle IMI is still expected to acquire the maximum 15% stake in the Telegraph permitted under proposed new media ownership rules. The government's decision to set the ownership threshold at 15% follows an intensive lobbying campaign by newspaper industry executives concerned that a permanent outright ban could cut off a vital source of funding to an already-embattled industry. However, the deal faces continued opposition from parliamentarians, with The Guardian reporting on Thursday that a cross-party group had written to Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, warning of "potential Chinese state influence" because of links between RedBird Capital chair John Thornton and China's sovereign wealth fund. This suggestion has been dismissed by RedBird Capital insiders. Ukraine-born Sir Len's portfolio of investments includes DAZN, which is now also backed by a Saudi sports group, mobile games studio Tripledot and Scenario Two, a theatre production company. Dovid Efune, the owner of The New York Sun, is meanwhile continuing to assemble a rival bid for the Telegraph, having secured backing from Jeremy Hosking, the prominent City investor. His prospects, however, look to have diminished after the former chancellor, Nadhim Zahawi, was reported to have withdrawn from his so-called 'British bid'. The Telegraph titles' parent company was forced into insolvency proceedings two years ago by Lloyds Banking Group, which ran out of patience with the Barclay family, their long-standing owner. RedBird IMI, a joint venture between the two firms, paid £600m several months later to acquire a call option that was intended to convert into ownership of the Telegraph newspapers and The Spectator magazine. That objective was thwarted by a change in media ownership laws, which banned any form of foreign state ownership. Some parliamentarians are continuing to argue that a 15% threshold would be too high, and that the proposed rules are ambiguous because they potentially allow for more than one state investor to aggregate their holdings in British newspapers. The Spectator was sold last year for £100m to Sir Paul Marshall, the hedge fund billionaire, who has installed Lord Gove, the former cabinet minister, as its editor.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
On This Day, May 24: 1st telegraph sent in United States
On this date in history: In 1844, the first U.S telegraph line was formally opened -- between Baltimore and Washington. The first message sent was "What hath God wrought?" In 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was opened to the public, linking Brooklyn and Manhattan in New York City. In 1935, the first night game in Major League Baseball was played at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. The Reds beat the Philadelphia Phillies 2-1. In 1943, Josef Mengele, the so-called "Angel of Death" became the new doctor at the Auschwitz death camp in Poland. He fled Germany at the conclusion of World War II and died in 1979 in Brazil. In 1958, United Press and the International News Service merger was announced, forming United Press International. In 1962, Mercury astronaut Scott Carpenter became the second American to orbit Earth, circling it three times. John Glenn was the first, earlier in the year. In 1983, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled private religious schools that practice racial discrimination aren't eligible for church-related tax benefits. In 1987, 250,000 people jammed San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge on its 50th anniversary, temporarily flattening the arched span. In 1991, Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia. In 2007, the U.S. Congress voted to increase the minimum wage for the first time in 10 years -- from $5.15 an hour to $7.25 over a three-year period. In 2018, President Donald Trump posthumously pardoned Jack Johnson, the first black heavyweight boxing champion, for his conviction under a Jim Crow-era law. In 2022, a mass shooting at a Uvalde, Texas, elementary school left 19 students and two adults dead. Law enforcement officers fatally shot the gunman.
