A 23-year-old Swiss shooting competition marksman has been arrested on a farm for shooting his own father dead and fleeing the scene, sparking a manhunt.

A woman from the village who chose to remain anonymous and who reportedly went to primary school with him was quoted as saying that he was a “nice, open-minded guy”.

The shooting took place in the village of Lampenberg, which is located some 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the Swiss city of Basel on Monday evening (27th December).

Adrian K., full surname not reported due to strict local privacy laws, is alleged to have shot his father Hanspeter K., 54, before fleeing.

The suspect reportedly owned a handgun, was a member of a local shooting club, and had taken part in shooting competitions, achieving success.

After a public manhunt was launched, he was caught on Tuesday (28th December) on a farm outside the village, according to local media.

Police had initially shared this photograph of the suspect, who can be seen wearing Swiss Army camo clothing, according to local media, before he was apprehended.

Local residents reported hearing gunshots shortly before 10pm on Monday evening, and when police arrived at the scene, they found the father dead and his son missing.

A helicopter was deployed to look for the young man before he was arrested on Tuesday afternoon.

Police spokesperson Adrian Gaugler said: “We were able to arrest the alleged armed perpetrator.”

He added: “Our employees did a good job.”

The suspect was reportedly caught less than 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) from the crime scene and did not offer any resistance to the arresting officers.

It is currently unclear why the suspect allegedly shot his father, with local media reporting that he was not known to be a violent person.

A woman from the village who chose to remain anonymous and who reportedly went to primary school with him was quoted as saying that he was a “nice, open-minded guy”.

She added: “He was always a bit different from the other children, but by no means angry.”

But she also said that he was suffering from ADHD, which is an attention deficit disorder, reportedly adding: “At least that was the case in primary school.”

This allegation has not been corroborated by a mental health professional.

It was also reportedly well known that the suspect owned a handgun, was member of a local shooting club, and had taken part in shooting competitions.

But he had reportedly not been active in the scene for a long time.