Men shot dead in villages just miles apart were ‘targeted father and son’

The two men shot dead in linked attacks in two sleepy Cambridgeshire villages on Wednesday (March 29) were a "father and son", police have revealed.

Cambridgeshire Police said they are "treating the attacks as targeted" after three people were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder.

Officers were initially called to the village of Bluntisham just after 9pm on Wednesday after reports of gunshots.

They arrived to find the body of a 32-year-old man who suffered a gunshot wound inside a property.

At 9.37pm, police got a call from a person in Sutton, near Ely, also reporting hearing gunshots.

The body of a 57-year-old man with gunshot wounds was found at a property there.

Detective Chief Superintendent Jon Hutchinson, of Cambridgeshire Police, revealed the two victims were "father and son".

He said: "Working with local residents and family members we quite quickly established that the two victims were related and they were father and son."

He added that the "primary line of investigation" was that the incident related to a "familial issue".

"It's been widely reported in the media that this may relate to a custody battle," he said. "I can confirm that is an active line of inquiry for us."

He also explained that an “active line of inquiry” is “understanding whether that firearm was legally owned”.

He said that “at this stage we’re not looking for any further people in relation” to the incident.

Forensic work is being carried out to establish if the same weapon was used at both locations.

A 27-year-old man and a 33-year-old woman were arrested in the early hours of Thursday (March 30) in Cambridge, while a 66-year-old man was arrested on a motorway in the Worcester area.

“Following his arrest his vehicle was searched and I can confirm we have recovered a firearm," DCI Hutchinson said regarding the 66-year-old.

He added that the man was in police custody in Worcester and is being transported to Cambridgeshire for interview.

Police said they are not in a position to name either victim because formal identification has not been carried out.

Detective Inspector Mark Butler, from the major crime unit, said: "These events will be shocking to local people and there will be understandable concerns within local communities, however, we are treating the attacks as targeted and there is no wider risk to the general public."

He said officers have been in touch with family and friends of the victims and they are helping the investigation.

Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101, quoting Operation Scan.

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