A 72-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the murder of two men who were found shot dead in the Kuncizzjoni area, limits of Rabat, on Tuesday evening.

The aggressor was arrested after a manhunt which lasted a couple of hours after the shooting incident, which happened at 5.45pm, a police spokesman said.

Rapid Intervention Unit Officers were first on the scene, and the police officers found two men, dead, in an alley near the church.

The victims were identified as Anthony Agius, a 57-year-old man from Rabat (left) and Dennis Mifsud, a 51-year-old man from Siggiewi (right).

One of the victims, the spokesperson said, is the son of the suspected killer's partner, while the other is the brother in-law of the other victim.

The suspect is a 72-year-old man from Zebbug. The police had been searching for the man, and he was later arrested, the spokesman said

The murder weapon has not yet been found, he added.

A magisterial inquiry is being led by Magistrate Joe Mifsud, the spokesperson said, and intensive police investigations and searches are ongoing.

Investigations are focusing on the reason behind the murder and the dynamics of the crime, the spokesperson said.