Police evacuate area near victim's home

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CLAYGATE, England, Sept. 10 (UPI) -- British police evacuated neighbors as they searched the home of a man shot and killed along with his wife, mother-in-law and a cyclist in the French Alps.

Police said they evacuated residents Monday near the home of Saad al-Hilli in Claygate because they were concerned about what they may find in the home, the BBC reported.

Hilli, his wife, Iqbal, and her mother were killed during the attack in Chevaline, near Lake Annecy, Wednesday. The fourth victim was a bicyclist who investigators theorize happened on the attack and whose body was found near the Hilli vehicle.

French officials said the Hillis' oldest daughter, Zainab, 7, has been brought out of a coma after she was shot and wounded during the attack last week.

Another daughter, 4-year-old Zeena, has returned to Britain.

British and French investigators, including members of the Royal Logistics Corps bomb disposal unit, began their search of Hilli's home in Surrey Saturday as they try to establish a motive for the killings that occurred as the family was vacationing in the French Alps.

Surrey police, in a statement, said police evacuated nearby houses "due to concerns around items found" in Hilli's home. Surrey Police said French officials were leading the investigation and British officers were facilitating requests.

In France, the BBC said police recovered a laptop from where the family was staying.

On Sunday, French prosecutor Eric Maillaud said police expanded their search of the crime scene.

"We are trying to see how those who committed these acts were able to get away," he said.

Maillaud said police plan to question family members, including his brother, downplaying reports that the brothers were at odds over an inheritance, CNN reported.

The brother went to police voluntarily after he learned about the deaths, Maillaud said.