90-year-old man held in custody over murder of couple in Pyrénées-Atlantiques
A nonagenarian was placed in police custody on Tuesday evening in Lagor after shooting a neighbouring couple with a rifle. A neighbourhood dispute spanning several decades is believed to be at the origin of the incident.
Nonagenarian suspected of murdering his neighbours in Lagor
A 90-year-old man was placed in police custody on the evening of Tuesday 22 September in Lagor, a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, suspected of having shot dead a neighbouring couple with a rifle. BFM TV reported the information, confirmed by the Pau prosecution office to AFP.
A village resident who heard the gunshots raised the alarm. Franck Rolland, mayor of Lagor, describes the event as a "shock" for the commune.
According to the elected official, a neighbourhood dispute had opposed the gunman and his partner to the deceased couple for "several decades, between 30 and 35 years, perhaps more". Franck Rolland describes the suspect and his partner as "atypical, on the margins, complicated" people, whereas the victims were "very pleasant, benevolent and completely lovely" people, who "asked nothing of anyone and were constantly attacked by the other couple".
The two sides found themselves before the courts on several occasions for reasons that the mayor deems trivial: herbicides that allegedly had been spread on vegetables, accusations of damage that were never substantiated. "Things that are not worth the effort, that's for certain", Rolland summarises.
The mayor also specifies that the suspect is in conflict with another neighbour. The investigation has been entrusted to the search brigade of Orthez, according to the Pau prosecution office.
Source: BFM TV