The public prosecutor continued investigations on Saturday into the killing of two Copts, Asaad Sam'an, 55, a cement trader, and his son Asaad, 25, in Nagaa Hammadi, Upper Egypt.
Gunmen killed Sam'an and his son on Thursday, according to state news agency MENA.
After the shootings, hundreds of Muslims and Copts gathered outside Nagaa Hammadi police station to demand the arrest of the perpetrators and the reinstatement of security forces to curb recurrent incidents of kidnapping and murder in a number of cities in the Qena Governorate, said Abu Bakr Mohamed, a Nagaa Hammadi resident, in a telephone call with Egypt Independent.
The forensic report showed that Sam'an was hit by one bullet, and his son by four, from an automatic weapon.
Boulos Sam'an, 32, Asaad Sam'an's second son and the sole witness, said there was a failed attempt to kidnap him three days prior to the double murder.
Police have arrested one of the gunmen, seized the car they used, and launched raids in an attempt to apprehend the remaining suspects, who are thought to be hiding nearby.
Mohamed told Egypt Independent the incident raised concerns regarding sectarian tension among the residents of Nagaa Hammadi, many of whom are Christians.
Two weeks ago, the village of Rahmaniyah in Nagaa Hammadi saw Muslim and Coptic families exchange gunfire in connection with a conflict over a plot of land.
