Cambridgeshire shooting: Father and son shot dead – ‘custody battle’ active line of inquiry for police

Two men shot dead in Cambridgeshire on Wednesday evening were father and son, police have said.

Detective chief superintendent Jon Hutchinson, of Cambridgeshire Police, said 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.”

Police described the attacks as “targeted”.

The bodies of the 32-year-old man and a 57-year-old man were found on Wednesday evening at two different locations six miles apart in Cambridgeshire.

Police have recovered a firearm in Worcester.

A 66-year-old man was arrested in Worcester. A 27-year-old man and a 33-year-old woman have also been arrested in Cambridge.

All three were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder.

Mr Hutchinson said that officers made a “very quick two arrests in a hotel just outside Cambridge”.

He added: “In the early hours of this morning we did a joint operation alongside West Mercia Police at which stage a 66-year-old man was arrested on the motorway by armed officers.

“Following his arrest his vehicle was searched and I can confirm we have recovered a firearm.”

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

Police were called to a property in Meridian Close, Bluntisham, just after 9pm on 29 March, where the body of a 32-year-old was found.

Seven minutes later, at 9.37pm, officers received a call from a person in Sutton, near Ely, who reported hearing gunshots. They found the body of a 57-year-old at a property in The Row.

The two locations are around a 15-minute drive apart, according to Google Maps.

Mr Hutchinson said that an “active line of inquiry” is “understanding whether that firearm was legally owned” and forensic work is taking place to establish whether the same weapon was used at both locations.

“A line of inquiry that we’re focusing on is that those people who are in custody are known to the deceased and have had recent contact with them.”

He added that the “initial arrests have been made for conspiracy to murder – that is likely to change as information develops in the hours ahead”.

At this stage, police are not looking for any further people in relation to the incident.

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At the time of the arrests, Detective Inspector Mark Butler said: “Tonight we have launched two linked murder investigations following the shootings of two men at separate properties in the county.

“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.

“There will be an increased police presence in the areas concerned today and officers and scenes of crime officers will be at the scenes throughout the day.

“Our thoughts also go out to the family and friends of the victims. Specially trained officers are in touch with them and they are helping our investigation.”

A car believed to have been used by the offender, a white Peugeot 208, and a shotgun have been recovered.

“Detectives are now beginning inquiries into how these events unfolded and we are appealing to anyone who was in either area and saw anyone acting suspiciously or a white Peugeot 208,” Mr Butler added.

Sarah Lown, who lives near the sealed-off houses in Sutton, said she heard three loud bangs on Wednesday evening, but thought it was objects in her garden that had blown over.

“I didn’t think anything crazy had happened,” she said. “I heard two more – it was bang, space, bang. Whether or not they were each gunshots I don’t know; then police were outside the house.”