A man in his 60s was suspected of killing twin women on Sunday in a central French village, one of whom was his ex-partner, before dying himself of a gunshot wound, officials said.
The regional prosecutor, Rachel Bray, said the man was believed to be a neighbour of the two women in the village of Montmorillon. He was seen leaving the home of one of them "bloody, with a gun in his hand".
The two women, whom the local mayor, Jean-Luc Souchaud, described as twins, were well known in the village of 7,000 inhabitants. He said he did not, however, know the male suspect.
Police, alerted by residents, found the bodies of the two women, one outside the home next to a vehicle in an adjoining alleyway, and the other at the door to the address.
The suspect was found with a bad gunshot wound to his chest after the double murder and taken to intensive care in a hospital in the city of Poitiers, where he was later declared dead.
Around 100 police were deployed at the scene. A rapid-response unit had arrested the man after surveying the area with a drone.