Yes Sandy - a new biog of Van Gogh, came out early this month I think. There was a boy - 16 or so - who apparently had a wild west complex. He followed Vincent around, put chilli powder in his tea, teased him - and it seems he carried a gun around and aimed it at people.
When Van Gogh got home, fatally wounded, he said something like 'It was no one else's fault, it was what I wanted to happen' or something. They (the authors) say he was protecting the boy.
No, not a joke - I'll look it up for you and post back.
OK - here's the link to BBC news -
Did Van Gogh really kill himself?