Father and son tried for attempted murder by shooting in Peso da Régua
The trial of two men accused of shooting at four victims in September 2025 began at Vila Real Court. Both defendants refused to make statements.
Trial begins in Vila Real with defendants silent
Vila Real Court began trying a 45-year-old father and his 22-year-old son on Tuesday, accused of qualified attempted murder following a shooting that occurred in September 2025 in the Alagoas neighbourhood in Peso da Régua. According to observador.pt, both defendants chose not to make statements before the panel of judges at the start of the proceedings.
The father faces three counts of qualified murder in attempted form; the son is charged with one crime of the same nature. The incident dates back to 12 September 2025, when the two suspects allegedly fired several shots at four men. Three of the victims were admitted to the emergency department of the Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro Local Health Unit that same evening.
GNR and Judicial Police deployed at the scene
To the Alagoas neighbourhood, officers from the GNR were mobilised along with agents from the Judicial Police in Vila Real, who seized firearms and ammunition in the possession of the defendants.
The Public Prosecution Service contends that father and son acted freely, voluntarily and consciously, knowing that their conduct was prohibited and punishable by law. The prosecution also emphasises that the facts are serious and that the victims escaped death by "mere stroke of luck". The Public Prosecution Service adds that "tension between rival groups persists".
Younger defendant already has conviction history
The son has prior convictions for four attempted murders, robbery and qualified assault on physical integrity. In September of last year he was serving a ten-month house arrest sentence for the last of those crimes.
The father was detained the day after the shooting in Régua and is in house arrest. The son, detained in December, was held in preventive custody — a measure of restraint that was subsequently interrupted to serve an eight-year prison sentence imposed in a separate case relating to the four attempted murders that have since been finalised on appeal.
Source: Google News PT — Crime (pt)