BEIJING, March 6 (Xinhuanet) -- The adult son of an expert on Russian intelligence who was shot last week in Prince George's County near Washington, D.C. disputed police reports the assailants took his father wallet and showed it to a reporter on Monday, media reported.

    Previous media reports quoted police officials saying Paul Joyal's briefcase and wallet had been taken in what they said was most likely a robbery rather than attempted murder. The shooting left Joyal, 53, critically wounded in his driveway Thursday night.

    During a brief interview at the family's home in Adelphi, Maryland, Alex Joyal said his father was in critical but stable condition. He declined to say whether the family has a theory about the crime.

    "We're not going to speculate right now," he said.

    The timing of the shooting -- four days after Paul Joyal said during a "Dateline NBC" interview the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin "was responsible for the poisoning death of former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko" -- raised the possibility Joyal might have been "targeted in retaliation for his comment," the media added. 

    "We really have no idea what the reason was," Elizabeth Joyal, Paul Joyal's wife, told the Associated Press, adding that "it could easily have been a random act of violence."

    Several news outlets have cited anonymous law enforcement officials as saying the shooting appeared to have occurred during a botched robbery. The claim that a wallet and briefcase had been taken from Paul Joyal was seen as offering additional support for the theory that he was targeted in a robbery or perhaps a failed carjacking.

    A source said Monday the wallet and briefcase were initially thought to have been taken but the wallet was found in Joyal's car. The location of the briefcase was unclear last night.

    (Agencies)