The small village of Retjons in the French department of Landes was shocked by fifteen gunshots last Thursday. A Belgian couple aged 74 and 75 were shot dead in their home. According to the Belgian Public Prosecution Service, it was a firearm that is also used for hunting small game. The body of a dog was also found in the house.
The suspected perpetrator is the couple’s landlord. He lives in a house not far from the couple. He also has Belgian nationality. The man was found seriously injured on Thursday in a wooded area not far from the property. The Public Prosecution Service speaks of an attempted suicide. The man was rushed to hospital, but his condition is no longer life-threatening.
Neighborhood dispute
According to the newspaper Le Parisienwho spoke to local residents, there was a neighborhood dispute between the couple and the landlord. “A story about a dog that barked too much,” a local resident told the newspaper. Although a conflict between neighbors is seen as the most likely cause, the motive remains unclear.
Neighborhood dispute turns fatal for Belgian couple: shot dead by landlord in France
The Belgian couple was not very well known in the neighborhood. They had lived in the village with several hundred inhabitants for several years, but led a secluded life. They arrived in the center of Retjon, local residents said. According to the French newspaper, they had three children and several grandchildren, but there was no longer contact within the family.
Local residents told Le Parisien that the Belgian landlord is “a big, strong guy, good with his hands.” He also had a serious paragliding accident in the Pyrenees a few years ago, local residents knew. He was said to have been in a coma and had to undergo major surgery. After the accident he was less mobile. Several local residents told the newspaper that the man had been “not in his right mind” since then.
The man is still in hospital and could not yet be interviewed by the police.
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