A LONG-running family feud over money led Sawa Singh to shoot his brother and sister-in-law with a stolen shotgun and then use it to kill himself.
The 51-year-old had written about his intention to shoot younger brother Kashmira, 42, and his wife Dialo, 38, in a note addressed to his sons Kalvir and Condon.
At an inquest into his death yesterday, coroner David Masters returned a verdict of suicide.
The court heard there had been disputes between Sawa and Kashmira, who shared a home with their families in The Causeway, Chippenham, and their other brother Kiker, for more than a year.
On November 28, five days before the shooting, a civil court case had been finalised in Kashmira's favour, with Sawa ordered to pay the costs.
This was the final straw for Sawa.
In a statement read in court, Dialo, who was only released from hospital yesterday following her injuries, said on the morning of the shooting she was confronted by her brother-in-law standing in the bathroom doorway opposite Kashmira's bedroom, holding a sawn-off pump action shotgun.
"Sawa didn't say anything to me but I shouting a warning to Kashmira to stay away from the door," she said.
"As I was shouting he turned the gun towards me." Diola was shot in the leg and collapsed.
Moments later Sawa blasted open his brother's bedroom door with a single shot, and burst in.
Kashmira told the court: "He was pointing the gun at me from his hip and I was shouting 'don't, don't.'
"He fired towards me, I turned to my right, and it hit me in the chest and arm."
Kashmira said Sawa then said he hadn't shot him in the right place and aimed at his head. Sawa pulled the trigger but the gun was empty.
Sawa later turned the gun on himself, despite protests from Kashmira, and shot himself in the chest, telling his brother "this is all your fault."
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