Mountain biker fatally shot by French hunter

A 34-year-old Briton riding a mountain bike was shot dead by a hunter as he sped down a wooded track in the French Alps, officials said on Sunday.

The victim was identified as Mark Sutton, who originally came from Wales but had been living for the past four years in the small town of Les Gets, where he owned a restaurant and a rent-a-chef business.

He was shot Saturday evening as a hunting party beat its way through woods near Montriond, the local prosecutor said.

The victim, a keen cyclist, was “perfectly identifiable” and was on a well-used but hard to access mountain track when he was shot by a 22-year-old hunter, who was taken to hospital in shock.

An enquiry has been launched for “aggravated manslaughter”, the prosecutor said.

– AFP