Police tight-lipped over motives behind remote fatal shootings of two teenagers

A 16-year-old girl and an 18-year-old man were found with gunshot wounds at a property near Tomintoul in Moray on Tuesday evening.

Grampian Police said they were not looking for anyone else in connection with the shootings but they did not comment on whether they regarded the incident as a domestic dispute.

A large area around the property was believed to have been cordoned off as the incident was not confined to the house.

Local councillor Fiona Murdoch said: “It seems like a terrible tragedy. For two young people to have died is absolutely horrendous, whatever the circumstances may be.”

The remote region is the gateway to the Highlands and lies within Cairngorm National Park. The A939 was shut between the ski gates at Tomintoul and Corgarff as investigations took place yesterday.

The Scottish Ambulance Service alerted police to the deaths at about 6.45pm on Tuesday.

A statement said: “Grampian Police can confirm that an investigation is under way after a male and female were shot and fatally injured at a residential property just off the A939 near Tomintoul, Moray.

“Investigations are at an early stage but we would like to take this opportunity to reassure the local community that we are not looking for any third party in connection with this incident.”

Yesterday, 30 detectives were working on the investigation alongside forensic teams.

Officers were examining the driveway of the three-bedroom cottage at the centre of the investigation yesterday afternoon.

Det Insp Stewart Mackie said: “This incident will shock the community both within Tomintoul and Grampian as a whole.”

Speaking at Lecht Ski Centre, around three miles away, Mr Mackie said he was keeping an open mind about whether it was a murder and suicide, a suicide pact or an accident.