A father and son were shot dead just minutes apart at separate addresses in rural Cambridgeshire in a suspected custody row.
The two men, named locally as Josh Dunmore, 32, and Gary Dunmore, 57, were killed in a “targeted attack” at their homes six miles apart on Wednesday night. They were both thought to be builders.
The body of Mr Dunmore was found at an address in the quiet village of Bluntisham just after 9pm, while his father was shot dead at a house in Sutton at around 9.37pm.
It is understood that the custody dispute which police suspect is at the heart of the double shooting had only been resolved very recently.
Armed police flooded the area and quickly made two arrests - of a 27-year-old man and a 33-year-old woman - at a hotel outside of Cambridge, according to Cambridgeshire Constabulary.
The force then had to draft help from West Mercia Police to swoop on a vehicle travelling along the motorway in Worcestershire and a 66-year-old was arrested at the wheel.
Officers searched the vehicle and recovered a shotgun, with the driver subsequently transported to Cambridgeshire for questioning.
All three suspects are currently being held on suspicion of conspiracy to murder, but a senior officer said this was “likely to change in the hours ahead” to arrests for murder.
Police said the suspects were “known to the deceased and had recent contact with them”, and confirmed “a familial issue” was the “primary line of investigation”.
A former neighbour of Gary Dunmore, in the nearby village Colne, said: “It’s awful, awful news. We all know each other around here.
“We understood that there had been some problem with custody over a child. We’re all very upset.”
Ch Supt Jon Hutchinson, of Cambridgeshire Police, said a “custody battle” was an “active line of inquiry” for investigators.
He added: “These are really quite rural isolated communities which aren’t impacted by crime so it was somewhat of a surprise when we got notification of an initial shooting in the village of Bluntisham, followed very quickly afterwards by reports of a shooting in Sutton, which is around six miles away.
“We launched a huge police response last night, flooding the area with armed officers followed by a helicopter.
“Tragically, after attendance at both of these locations we identified that both victims had been killed in these attacks and it was quite apparent a firearm had been used.
“Working with local residents and family members we quite quickly established the two victims were related and were a father and son, which then helped us identify a motive for these attacks.”
Police are trying to establish how the firearm was acquired and have separately appealed for information from anyone who saw a white Peugeot 208 travelling in the area on Wednesday night.
A neighbour of Gary Dunmore, who gave his name only as Stuart, 42, said he knew the victim “really well” and sent him a WhatsApp message after hearing “gunshots suspiciously close” on the night of his death.
Paying tribute, he continued: “Gary couldn’t do any more for any person - there was not a malicious bone in his body.”
Another neighbour in Sutton - Gordon Murray, 62 - described "shouting" when armed police arrived at the scene.
Following the arrival of police at the property the support engineer examined footage on his CCTV camera and spotted that at around 8.30pm a white car had twice passed the house where the shooting took place.
“I couldn’t clearly make out who they were or what they did at that point but police said the CCTV was of interest to them and I’ve downloaded it for them,” Mr Murray told The Telegraph.
“At around 9.30 I saw the police cars racing down here. There was a lot of shouting. I thought it was an altercation or something. Then I saw the armed police in black uniforms and helmets. It was after that that I looked back at my CCTV.”
By Thursday afternoon, floral tributes had begun piling up near police cordon tape at Meridian Close in Bluntisham.
One of the tributes said: “Josh, you shined such a bright light over everyone around you.
“It was impossible not to smile when you’re around. You’re going to be missed so much.”
Another said “rest easy Josh”.
Bluntisham is a small village with a population of around 2,000. Sutton In The Isle has a population of around 3,800.
