Cambridgeshire police investigate possible link between custody battle and shooting of father and son

Police are investigating a custody battle as a possible line of inquiry following the shooting of two men believed to have been father and son in two Cambridgeshire villages.

Three people have been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder following the shooting of the two men in Bluntisham and Sutton on Wednesday night (March 29).

Formal identification is awaited but the pair who died have been named locally as builder Gary Dunmore, 57, and his 32-year-old son Josh Dunmore, who also worked in the trades.

Officers were called to reports of gunshots in Meridian Close, Bluntisham, just after 9pm on Wednesday and found the body of a 32-year-old man.

Then at 9.37pm, police were called to reports of shots in nearby Sutton and found the body of a 57-year-old man at a property in The Row.

Chief Superintendent Jon Hutchinson, of Cambridgeshire police, said: “We believe that the victims are father and son, we believe that it’s a targeted and isolated attack. There’s a lot of speculation in the local community about this having some cause of it being around a child custody battle. And I can confirm that is an active line of inquiry that we are pursuing. And that we believe that the answer to this lies within that wider family dynamic.”

Police have not confirmed if anyone else had been in either of the the houses at the time of the shootings.

However, Chief Supt Hutchinson added: “Officers attended the scene very quickly, and they were able to support family members who were nearby, as well as gathering evidence very quickly from potential witnesses.”

The victims have not been named as formal identification has not yet been carried out.

A 27-year-old man and a 33-year-old woman were arrested in the early hours of today (March 30) 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 white Peugeot 208 and a shotgun have also been recovered.

Chief Supt Hutchinson said: “We’re working closely with local schools, with local community groups, with local electoral representatives, to make sure we can maintain the really cohesive communities that we have there.

“Both Sutton and Bluntisham are known for their strong community and a really positive environment in which to live. So the police are going to play a part alongside other agencies and community groups to try and bring back that feeling of togetherness and solidarity, which won’t be easy and will take time but we will get there.”

He added that detectives were grateful to the local community for offering to share CCTV and doorbell camera footage from the evening.

He said: “The community around there is extremely supportive of our investigation. They’re shocked and appalled by what's happened. I’d like to thank them for their support and those that have got ring doorbell footage or the CCTV, we will be in contact with him. We've already secured quite a lot of evidence, but we will be in contact with everyone else later on today.”

Chief Supt Hutchinson called on residents of both villages to support each other, saying: “This is traumatic, and please, please look after those that are around you. On behalf of the police, I’d like to send my sincere condolences to the families and friends of the victims.”

And he promised: “Forensic work is taking place now and will continue throughout the clock. We’ve got a large investigation team working on this, and we will work tirelessly to achieve justice for our victims and their families. And we’ll give any updates as soon as we can in relation to those people that we have currently in custody.

“We have 24 hours to interview them, which can be extended by magistrates, if required, but we’ll continue to give updates on the state of our investigation.

“We’re really keen to hear from any potential witnesses. People may have information that they don’t feel is particularly relevant, but please contact us anyway because it’s really important that we have a complete understanding of the background to this incident, and also to people who may have seen some suspicious activity last night.”

In particular, detectives want to heard from anyone who saw a white Peugeot 208 in the Bluntisham and Sutton area last night.

Anyone who has any information should contact police on 101 or visit cambs.police.uk/report.