British mother dies and two family members are shot in Turkey holiday villa gun bloodbath

 
Arrest: A man is led away by police
Kiran Randhawa11 September 2013
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Three generations of a British family have been shot while on holiday in Turkey, leaving one dead and two fighting for their lives in hospital.

Catherine Bury was celebrating her birthday when a gardener at the resort is believed to have gone on the rampage, shooting her dead with a pump-action shotgun.

Her son and mother also suffered serious gunshot wounds when the party turned into a bloodbath at their villa in the early hours of yesterday.

Mrs Bury died at the scene after being chased through the building by the gunman.

The 56-year-old ran up three flights of stairs, bolted herself in the top floor bathroom but the attacker blasted the lock and shot her four times as she cowered on the tiled floor.

Moments earlier, he shot her 87-year-old mother Cecille in the back and her son Alex, 23 in the leg.

The family, had been celebrating Mrs Bury’s birthday at the resort of Dalyan on the south coast of Turkey.

The 46-year-old gunman, identified by police only by his initials VA, had reportedly argued with Mrs Bury on Friday and issued death threats.

Holiday: The villa in Dalyan where the shooting took place

She reported him to police and he was arrested the following day.

The Bury family, from Northallerton in North Yorkshire, decorated their villa with bunting and balloons for the party on Sunday night.

But the gardener had been released by police the same day and is understood to have loaded eight rounds into his pump-action shotgun and headed back to the villa.

Cecille was raced to hospital in the nearby city of Fethiye while Alex was taken to a different hospital in the city of Mugla.

A man later gave himself up to police and was due to appear in court later today.

A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesman said: “We are aware of the death of a British national in Turkey.

“We are providing consular assistance to the family at this difficult time.

“We can confirm the hospitalisation of two British nationals in Turkey. We are providing consular assistance.”

The coastal resort of Dalyan on the south west coast of Turkey, welcomes thousands of British tourists every year.

It is known for its famous Turtle Beach, rock tombs and natural mud baths and is popular with families who fly in from Dalaman International Airport.

It is also a popular day trip for tens of thousands more tourists staying in Marmaris, about an hour away.

Dalyan is regarded as a quiet relaxing destination, in contrast to Marmaris, which has gained reputation as a mecca for drunken holiday makers.

Earlier this year two British women were sexually assaulted in Marmaris, the latest in a string of attacks on British tourists.

As well as tourism, Dalyan relies heavily on its fishing and agricultural industries and is situated on the Dalyan Channel between an inland lake and the Mediterranean Sea.

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