Arrests made after two men shot dead in ‘targeted’ Cambridgeshire shootings

Three people have been arrested after two men were shot dead in the same hour in two Cambridgeshire villages around six miles apart, with police describing the attacks as “targeted” and “linked”.

Cambridgeshire police were called to reports of gunshots and found the body of a 32-year-old man inside a house in Meridian Close, Bluntisham just after 9pm on Wednesday night. He had a gunshot wound and officers are now treating his death as a murder.

Under an hour later, at 9.37pm, police received a call from a person in Sutton reporting gunshots and found the body of a 57-year-old man inside a house on The Row in Sutton, near Ely. He also had gunshot wounds and his death is being treated as another murder.

The roads in Bluntisham and Sutton are around six miles apart.

Neither victim has been named yet as they have not been formally identified.

A 27-year-old man and a 33-year-old woman were arrested in the early hours of Thursday in Cambridge, while a 66-year-old man was arrested in the Worcester area. All three were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder.

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

The properties in Meridian Close and The Row have been cordoned off and police officers remain at the scenes.

Detective Inspector Mark Butler, from the major crime unit, 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.

“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.

“Any information, no matter how insignificant it may seem, could be very important to our investigation.”

Anyone with information is urged by police to report online here or via the web chat service and quote Operation Scan. Those without internet access are asked to call 101.

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