Kampong Speu provincial police are on the lookout for a former military official who allegedly shot his mother-in-law and sister-in-law to death on Saturday.

Provincial penal office head Sam Sak said the suspect, Sam Vann, was armed with an assault rifle when he reportedly gunned down the two women in Preah Kher village, Phnom Sruoch district.

“We know the suspect, and we are searching for him since he killed the victims and ran into the nearby jungle,” he said.

He added that according to other relatives the suspect was acting normally on the day of the incident before he shot the two victims.

Phnom Sruoch district deputy police chief Poy Neurn said the victims – Vor Hav, 75, and Nharn Voet, 35 – lived in Dombok Roung commune and that the suspect used to be a military officer.

He added that the suspect had a history of domestic violence and used physical force on his wife. The night before the tragedy, Sak reportedly engaged in an argument with the victims after they allegedly tried to persuade his wife to divorce him.