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Gunman Kills 5, Shoots Himself In Finland Shopping Mall

A lone gunman dressed in black opened fire Thursday at a shopping centre on the outskirts of Helsinki, killing five people, in the latest shooting rampage to send shockwaves through Finland. Late a sixth body

PTI PTI Updated on: December 31, 2009 20:27 IST
gunman kills 5 shoots himself in finland shopping mall
gunman kills 5 shoots himself in finland shopping mall

A lone gunman dressed in black opened fire Thursday at a shopping centre on the outskirts of Helsinki, killing five people, in the latest shooting rampage to send shockwaves through Finland. Late a sixth body was found reported to be of the gunman.

The gunman, named by police as Ibrahim Shkupolli, is believed to have killed his ex-wife before shooting dead four people at a shopping centre in Espoo, Finland's second largest city.

The 43 year-old, dressed in black, opened fire on shoppers early on Thursday morning at the Sello mall, police and witnesses told the state broadcaster YLE.

A body, thought to be that of the suspect's ex-wife, was found at a nearby apartment.

One woman and three men were killed at the mall, police spokesman Jurki Karlio told AP, adding that all trains to the mall were halted as police searched for the gunman.

He said there were "many hundred people" inside the mall at the time. YLE reported that the gunman was previously known to police.

A witness told the broadcaster a gunman dressed in black began randomly shooting at people on the second floor of the mall. Another witness told Finnish radio that a panic ensued as the shooting began.

"There were loads of people who were crying, and many vendors who were completely panicked," the unnamed witness said.

The Sello shopping mall describes itself as one of the Nordic region's largest with more than 170 shops. It opened in 2005.

 Several ambulances rushed to the scene in the Helsinki suburb of Espoo after the shooting erupted at around 10:20 am (0820 GMT).

Security services evacuated the shopping centre and then cordoned off the area while public transport services were rerouted.

Media reports said that the suspect opened fire with a 9 mm hand gun, prompting New Year's Eve shoppers to rush to safety.

"Everyone was in a panic. They didn't know what was happening and some were crying," one witness told radio station Yle.

This is the third major shooting incident in the past two years in the Nordic country where gun crime has become a major issue and gun ownership is widespread.

Eleven people were killed in September 2008 when a 22-year-old gunman burst into a school classroom, shooting dead eight female students and one male classmate as well as a male teacher, before turning the gun on himself.

An 18-year-old student also shot six students, a headmistress and a nurse before killing himself in a school in Jokela, north of Helsinki in November 2007.

Both of the shooters had easily acquired a license for their handguns.

The gunman behind the 2008 rampage, Matti Juhani Saari, had been questioned by police just a day before the massacre about a video posted on YouTube showing him shooting his weapon at a firing range.

However, they deemed he was not enough of a threat to withdraw his gun license.

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